Shine On Me
by VivaL'Aquila
Summary: Josuke is an online friend of Kazuto Kirigaya, one of the Beta testers of the new game, SAO. Luckily, Josuke receives a NerveGear and a copy of the game just in time for the full release and dives in. However, it quickly becomes a matter of life and death as the two of them fight for their lives in the death game, but SAO still has yet to see the likes of Josuke's Crazy Diamond.
1. Online

**Obligatory Disclaimer: SAO and its characters were created by Reki Kawahara and JoJo and its characters were created by Hirohiko Araki. This is a fanfiction purely for satire and to make what nobody has done yet. If you dislike SAO for several reasons I can think of, then you don't need to get mad. If you dislike JoJo for several reasons I can think of, then you don't need to get mad at me for writing this. You clicked on it anyway, so let's get into it.**

* * *

 **Higashikata Residence, Morioh, 2022**

Waking up…

Josuke never really thought about the experience that much. After all, it was all just a mundane activity every human had to go through every single day.

Now that the built teen thought about it, there was far much more to it than simply getting up in the morning. Josuke knew that every time you woke up, you greeted a new day, and one more chapter is added to your life story.

Truth be told, Josuke was quite fascinated with this concept. Every new day meant new people to meet, new things to do, and a future to carve into the pages of reality.

Especially today, of all days. The morning sun's rays greeted Josuke as his eyes flinched, newly exposed to the radiance of morning. He could hear the sounds of birds chirping outside his room as a new day in the peaceful and quiet town of Morioh began anew.

The town itself was a quiet one, it was humble in every sense, but Josuke was still proud to call it home. Josuke smiled serenely as he stretched his arms, flexing his muscles, which were still stiff from being neglected from exercise all night.

His figure was pressed against the tank top he wore as his pajamas, as he pressed his hand against a certain star-shaped birthmark on the back of his left shoulder.

Groaning in satisfaction, Josuke relaxed his posture and kicked his feet off of his bed, scratching his back as he lumbered towards the bathroom. On normal days, he'd be prepping himself to go to school, but today was a weekend, so he was satisfied to eat breakfast in his PJ's.

Reaching the sink, he pulled out a comb from one of the drawers and looked at his reflection in the mirror, with his hair messy and unkempt.

Groaning, he worked his hands on his scalp, eventually forming his signature pompadour hairdo. Many people often gave his hair weird looks, and honestly, he didn't blame them. After all, it was 2022 and walking around with hair like this was sure to turn heads.

But Josuke never cared. This was his message to honor his savior and role model, and nobody would disrespect that, lest they suffer the beatdown of their lives and beyond. Upon thinking these dark thoughts, a pink armored fist materialized next to Josuke, clenching its hand into a fist, ready to shove it in the unlucky face of whoever would be stupid enough to have the gall to insult his hair.

Rubbing his eyes from his fatigue, Josuke shuffled down the stairs like a zombie. But then he heard an all-too-familiar voice call out from the kitchen.

"Jooosukeeee!" Josuke sighed to himself. His mother was always quite the interesting character, and he was damn grateful to have her in his life. Even without his dad around anymore, he was still pretty happy to know that both of them loved him. Hell, the old man even kept in touch more than enough times to count.

"Yeah?" Josuke called out in reply as his feet touched the living room.

"Happy birthday!"

Josuke's eyes widened quickly in surprise, but tinted cheeks and an awkward smile quickly replaced his shocked expression.

"O-oh right! I totally forgot!" Josuke stammered embarrassedly.

Tomoko quickly ran up to hug her son, who wholeheartedly returned the gesture. Josuke separated from his mother shortly after as he walked over to the fridge to pull out a carton of fresh milk.

Tomoko then sighed loudly, glaring slyly at Josuke. "Oh, Josuke. If you keep forgetting things like your birthday, how're you gonna remember your girlfriend's name (if you ever get one, virgin.)?"

Josuke nearly spat out his milk when he heard this, his face as red as a cherry.

"M-Mom! I-I told you I just haven't found the right one yet! A-and I told you I'm saving myself for marriage!"

With this, Tomoko only laughed heartily, her hand clutching her stomach as she hunched over, roaring with laughter at her son, who was hunched over the table, eyes glued to his cereal as he sucked it in with the rate of a vacuum cleaner through his flushed cheeks.

The two of them acted so casually to one another for the most part, that most times it almost seemed they had a platonic relationship instead of one between a mother and her son, but they were not short of love for each other, and knew when to act as they should.

"So… what did my kind, loving mother give me for my birthday?" Josuke asked Tomoko, tauntingly.

Striking a similar expression to her son's, Tomoko replied, "I give you a house, an education, money and I cook your meals every day. Isn't that enough?" She replied snarkily.

Josuke kept up his game and clenched his heart in mock agony. "Ow, my heart! I-it hurts so much! How could you?!"

Tomoko only laughed. "How? I am your mother. That's plenty reason enough." She deadpanned with a wicked grin.

"Gah!" With this, Josuke fell over backwards, his hand clutching his chest as if he'd had a heart attack.

Once she was done poking fun with Josuke, she walked over to him and poked him in his side. "Yo, Josuke. You waking up?"

"Leave me alone. I'm busy dying from terrible burns." Josuke muttered with closed eyes.

Sweatdropping, Tomoko raised her arms in defense. "Okay… seriously, your… father and I decided to get you something a little special for your birthday. Just… give me a second…"

Tomoko then pulled out her phone and began punching in numbers with her fingers, blowing away the short dark bangs of hair away from her eyes.

With this, Josuke got up from his seat at the dining table and walked toward the living room. Slumping down on the couch, he reached for the TV remote and pressed a button.

The television screen then flickered to life, turning on the news channel. With that, the shrill, cheery voice of the news reporter rang out.

"So now we begin! This week's MMO stream will be covering the revolutionary new online sensation of the century!"

Josuke stared with interest, leaning ever closer to the TV screen. The channel showed videos of crowds upon crowds of people lining up to local video game stores around Japan, all of them eager to get in. Josuke himself was never really good at video games, but he was interested in them.

"What could all these people be lining up for? Sword Art Online! The world's first ever VRMMORPG! Truly something never seen before!"

Josuke's eyes glowed. He had heard the talk of the town of this new sensation. A game that took you inside the world to be the character? This was something unheard of, and an idea that made Josuke tingle in anticipation.

"Those waiting in front of the line said they were there for three days before the game was released! Amazing! With the game's servers coming online today at 1:00 pm Japanese Standard Time, the 10,000 lucky gamers must be eager to experience this game for the first time!"

And with that, the screen showed a video of overjoyed customers having their picture taken, all of them eagerly showing their newly purchased copies of the game. But this also made Josuke's smile droop slightly. Given the severe lack of video game stores around Morioh, and his mother's adherence to him playing video games, he could only dream of being immersed into a virtual world such as Sword Art Online.

Having Crazy Diamond with him was surely bizarre and fantastical on its own, Josuke could only imagine being able to interact and mingle with people inside a game where his fantasies can be shared by everybody.

"Yo, Josuke!" A deep and gruff voice called out from behind Josuke.

Recognizing the voice, Josuke only smiled and turned around to address him.

"Hey, pops."

Joseph Joestar then chuckled heartily from Tomoko's phone, his old, yet ever mischievous face brimming with a smile from the video chat.

"Happy birthday from everybody, champ!" Joseph proclaimed loudly as Tomoko rolled her eyes at his behavior.

"Hiiii, Josuke! Happy birthday!" Holly Joestar called out happily beside her father to her (technical) brother.

"Hi, Mrs. Holly." Josuke sweatdropped with a blush as he responded to the older woman.

"Anyways Josuke, I really wished I could be over to Japan for your birthday, but I got some important business to attend to with the Speedwagon Foundation!" Joseph said through the phone.

" _Of course you do…_ " Josuke deadpanned in his brain. He had accepted that Joseph loved him for a while, but he still understood that the business with his wife, Suzie Q. and his own mom complicated things, and learning he was the result of a one-night stand was quite a low blow. However, Joseph still cared about him, and that was all that mattered.

"But don't worry! I still got you a present! It should be with your mother right now!" Joseph said happily.

Josuke raised an eyebrow as he followed his mother up the stairs, who still held up her phone.

"Mom, what is it? New shoes? A new phone?" Josuke asked eagerly.

Tomoko smiled back at her son. "Just wait. You'll see."

This only made Josuke more interested as they climbed up to the upper floor and into Tomoko's room. Tomoko handed her phone to Josuke and rushed to her bed.

Josuke watched as she reached under the bed to retrieve something. Pulling it out, Josuke saw two gifts in her hands. One was small, thin and rectangular, fitting into her palm, while the other was a wrapped box, and it appeared to be heavy as Tomoko's arm struggled to keep it in her grasp.

"Well, what're you waitin' for? Rip it open!" Joseph excitedly said to Josuke.

Josuke quickly dug into his presents, so caught up in his excitement that he subconsciously summoned Crazy Diamond as its hands moved with his, tearing away at the wrapping paper at a rapid pace, causing Joseph and Tomoko to chuckle to themselves in amusement at his antics.

As the last of the paper was off, Josuke gazed at his gift with wide eyes. On the box was the picture of what looked to be some sort of helmet. However, as Josuke read the words printed on the top right of the box, it confirmed his hopes. This was a NerveGear VR headset and console.

Looking at his smaller gift, he was just as thrilled to see the three words displayed in bright blue over a stylized logo.

Sword Art Online.

"Hope you like it! Managed to nab those off the shelves before the rabid crowds got to them!" Joseph proclaimed, giving him a wink for good measure.

Josuke turned to his smiling mother, and hugged her for the second time that day, but much harder than last time.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou…" Josuke whispered between breaths into her ear with joy, causing Tomoko to pat him on the back, happy that her son loved their gift. There was a reason she fell in love with the boy's father, after all, and she had loved to love their son more than anything in the world.

"You know what? Get that thing set up, and take your sweet time." Tomoko said to Josuke with a beaming smile, causing Josuke to tear up with joy.

"Thank you so much, mom!"

"But remember! No playing on weekdays, only after you finish your homework and if you don't stop by dinner, I'll rip that thing off your head myself!" Tomoko continued quickly, causing Josuke to sweatdrop with an awkward smile.

Josuke began walking to his room with his presents and was about to reach for his doorknob when he heard his mom again. "Hey, Josuke?"

"Yeah?"

"… have fun." Tomoko managed, smiling with a light blush.

With this, Josuke smiled back warmly. "Thanks, mom. Love you!"

* * *

 **Josuke's Room, Higashikata Residence, 5 minutes before release of SAO**

Through tooth and nail and several electrical shocks, Josuke had managed to set up the NerveGear.

Getting past all the login details and body scans, he placed both hands on his NerveGear headset, eager to get started.

However, his laptop began to give off a familiar ringtone. Rushing to his computer, he answered the call. Suddenly, a familiar face popped up onto his screen.

"Hey, Kazuto!" Josuke said to the boy on the screen. The boy was quite possibly the opposite of Josuke in terms of looks. For starters, his face was so inmasculine one could mistake him for a female if it weren't for his short, spiky black hair with an ahoge on top. His onyx-silver eyes were wide and shining, and he wore a black sweater.

"Hi, Josuke. Happy birthday." Kazuto said to the taller teen.

"Dude, I just got the NerveGear for my birthday! I guess I'll be joining you online!" Josuke excitedly told his online friend.

"Really?! That's great! Mind if I show you the ropes once we log in?" Kazuto joyfully exclaimed.

For the longest time, Kazuto Kirigaya had known Josuke as a friend, but only through the screens of their laptops. They would often play games on their laptops, only for Josuke to lose miserably most of the time. But Kazuto didn't mind. In fact, he found it quite fun.

"That would be _great_! I mean, you got to play the Beta! How lucky is that?" Josuke said with a thumbs-up, causing Kazuto to chuckle softly.

"So… see you on the other side?" Kazuto asked, keeping his eye on the clock counting down the minutes.

Josuke paused for a minute, before turning back to his laptop screen. "Yeah. See ya!"

Josuke then hung up, and turned to his NerveGear, picking it up and holding it above his head. Seeing as how his pomp wouldn't be able to fit it, Josuke groaned, but quickly came up with a solution.

" **Crazy Diamond!** " Josuke yelled out loudly.

All of a sudden, a new entity materialized next to Josuke, hovering next to him. Its body was pink and muscular, yet shiny and metallic, covered by heart-decal armor. The Stand raised its arms and pounded down on the NerveGear helmet.

" **DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAAAA!** " The Stand yelled in a loud cry as its fists smashed into the headset at the speed of light, crumbling it into a pile of smoking scrap metal.

Josuke smirked in victory and laid down on his bed while grasping the cable for the NerveGear. Summoning his Stand once more, his arm glowed with pink energy, spreading to the cable. Eventually, the pieces that made up the NerveGear began to glow with the same spiritual energy, before levitating in the air and reassembling themselves.

The pieces reattached themselves over Josuke's head, fitting his hairstyle snugly inside the headset.

With that out of the way, Josuke took a deep breath as he saw the clock strike 13:00.

" **Link start!** "

And with that, Josuke Higashikata had entered the virtual world.

Before his eyes, the atmosephere of his room faded into white as all of his senses were overtaken by something new. Josuke saw colors flash before him, and nodes confirming that his senses in the game were working in the loading screen.

Then it flashed to the language selection, which he chose Japanese. It then flashed forward to his account info, in which he entered accordingly.

"Username: 'JoJo'… Password… 'crazydiamond'." He muttered to himself, pressing enter.

And with that, the screen flashed in big letters, "Welcome to Sword Art Online!"

Suddenly, a bright light filled Josuke's eyes, and once he opened them, he was in awe. He looked down, and sure enough, his feet were there, clad in combat boots and trousers.

Raising his arm, he saw he wasn't dressed as he used to be, but as the avatar he had designed for himself. He had fingerless gloves, and wore an indigo-violet T-shirt with the default brown vest over his attire.

Reaching to touch his head, he felt his familiar pompadour, causing him to breath a sigh of relief, knowing that the custom hairstyle feature worked.

Looking above him at the beautiful scene surrounding him, he could only mutter one word in wonder.

"Wow…"

He was finally in the digital world.

* * *

 **Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1: Town of Beginnings)**

All around Josuke, he could see people of all sorts beginning to log in, appearing in flashes of blue light.

Josuke was beyond thrilled to see so many people, the chatter in the air beginning to rise to a forte.

Everybody was spawning in the place called the "Town of Beginnings", the massive castle standing proud over an open square surrounded by a bustling town.

However, the crowd began to disperse from the square and enter the rest of the town.

Josuke wasted no time and shoved through the massive sea of people, searching for his friend.

Reaching the marketplace, he passed all sorts of people. NPCs lined the stalls on every corner, and players of all sizes, genders and personalities were beginning to mingle with one another. Truly an awe-inspiring scene, but Josuke didn't stop to admire the scenery.

Turning to go down an alleyway, Josuke could barely process what was going on or the man in front of him.

"WATCHOUT!" He heard a voice rapidly spout ahead of him, but it was too late as the two players collided with one another, stunning both gamers as they crashed to the ground.

"I'm so sorry! Please forgive me for bumping into you! I'm just looking for a friend!" Josuke was quick to apologize, but was unprepared for the other player's response.

"J-Josuke?"

Josuke's eyes widened as he looked in front of him. It was definitely a boy, with blue hair combed down the right side of his face. He had a sharp chin and eyes, and wore a blue shirt over his lean, yet robust build.

"Kazuto?"

"Yep! I'd recognize that hairstyle anywhere! I'm so glad I could finally meet you in person! Or at least… face-to-face. And by the way, it's Kirito, … JoJo?" The boy excitedly said to Josuke.

"Yeah… I don't know why I picked that username, I mean-" Josuke began to say, only to be cut off by Kirito.

"No, no! I like it! Has a nice ring to it, don't ya think?" Kirito said with a wink.

"Yeah… I guess…"

"Oh, I've got a million things to teach you, mister! Let's get going!" Kirito said, dragging an embarrassed Josuke behind him by the wrist through the streets of the marketplace.

After several hours of wandering about the town, the two teens began to talk with one another, from matters as lighthearted as the newest games to personal things like their lives at home.

Suddenly, something caught Kirito's eye. "Oi, Josuke! Let's get you some weapons!"

Running toward the weapons stall, Kirito took in an eyeful of the many different blades presented at the stall, his eyes twinkling with curiosity.

However, Josuke only scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I… I dunno man… I don't really know if I'm a sword kinda guy, y'know?"

Kirito turned toward Josuke with a face that expressed clear shock. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno, I guess I'm more of a hand-to-hand fighter…" Josuke muttered. Because he had Crazy Diamond, he was always fond of playing with a brawler style, fists only. Besides, he never really needed weapons when he had a Stand that punched at the speed of light.

Kirito scratched his chin, and snapped his fingers as a light bulb formed above his head. "I know exactly what you'd like."

Tapping the space next to the NPC salesman, Kirito's fingers opened a menu and punched in specifications, leading a display to pop up next to the menu.

"They got brass knuckles and daggers if you're into that kinda thing, but personally I'd rather have the range advantage with a sword. These things are fast and light, but you'd need to get in crazy close to use them." Kirito said to his friend.

"That I can live with." Josuke declared confidently, confirming his purchase.

And with that, Josuke received a notification from his player menu, telling him he had two new weapons in his inventory.

* * *

 **Weapon Showcase:**

 **Lv. 1 Fists: Beginner Knuckles – Not the kind of weapon to slay monsters, but the perfect tool for a closer and more… hands-on experience.**

 **Special: Deals 5% extra damage vs. enemy players**

 **Enhancement**

 **Damage: 10 (E)**

 **Speed: 75 (B)**

 **Durability: 175 (B)**

 **Range: 50cm (E)**

 **Precision: 25% (D)**

 **Rank: Beginner (E)**

 **Selling Price: 45 Col**

 **Owner: JoJo**

* * *

 **Weapon Showcase:**

 **Lv. 1 Knife: Beginner Dagger – A swift and precise tool. Used in the kitchen to slice up food, but in a duel, it can be far deadlier in capable hands.**

 **Special: Chance to bleed for 2 seconds**

 **Enhancement: 0**

 **Damage: 50 (C)**

 **Speed: 50 (C)**

 **Durability: 125 (D)**

 **Range: 75cm (D)**

 **Precision: 75% (B)**

 **Rank: Beginner (E)**

 **Selling Price: 50 Col**

 **Owner: JoJo**

* * *

All of a sudden, a holster appeared at Josuke's hip, materializing in blue crystals. Reaching for his belt, Josuke pulled out the small weapon, its silver blade shining in the sun, causing Josuke to stare at it in wonder.

"Whoa…"

"Try it on, man!" Kirito urged him.

"Hmm…" Josuke muttered to himself quietly. But then he was quickly interrupted by a foreign voice.

"HEY!"

The pair looked to the side, their eyes locking onto the source of the noise, and they fell upon what seemed to be a male player. He wore the default brown vest over a white sweater and his rosy red hair was long and kept together by a red and yellow headband.

The man gasped for air and was hunching his back while holding onto his knees, as it seemed he had been running for a while.

"Uhh… can we help you, bud?" Josuke asked the player.

"Y-yeah, I'm sorry… You…" He said, gesturing to Kirito.

"M-me?" Kirito asked.

"Y-yeah. You move like you've been here before. That confident stride of yours… you're a Beta tester, aren't you?" The newcomer asked.

"Uh… yeah, I was, actually." Kirito answered him awkwardly.

"Ah, great! Would you mind giving me some pointers? It's my first time! I'm begging you!" The man said to Kirito, clapping both his hands together to show his desperation.

Looking back and forth between the player and Kirito, Josuke began laughing to himself at the man's antics, before speaking to him. "Well, ain't this a coincidence! It's my first time, too! My friend here was just about to run me through the basics! Care to tag along?"

With this, the man's face lit up with a smile as he jabbed his thumb to his chest. "Sure thing! Name's Klein! Nice to meet ya!"

"Name's Josuke. Call me JoJo!" Josuke replied in a similar fashion to Klein.

"I'm Kirito." Kirito added cooly.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

 **Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1: West Field)**

"Ghh!" Klein grunted as the boar mob butted him back onto his butt, knocking the short sword he held out of his hand.

The animal mob stood its ground menacingly, its red eyes signifying it as a hostile enemy. Meanwhile, Klein only shrank into the ground, clutching his groin in pain.

"Agh, my balls…"

Josuke then walked over to Klein, trying to get him up again. "Get up, man. It can't be that ba-"

However, he didn't see the boar charge him from behind, knocking him off of his feet and crashing onto Klein's body.

"GAAGH! Owww…" Klein groaned out loud.

Kirito only stood by sweatdropping, a look of sheer disappointment directed at the two of them. "You two do realize that you can't actually feel pain in-game?" Kirito deadpanned.

With this, Klein instantly got up with an embarrassed blush adorning his face. "Y-yeah, of course I knew that!"

"Haven't you heard of phantom pain, you dick?" Josuke responded in a muffled voice, his face still stuck in the dirt.

With this, Kirito sighed and continued on. "Like I said, the key's your first action."

Klein got up, frowning to see his health meter dropped a few points. "Y-yeah, but he just won't stay put!" He complained, pointing at the boar trotting back and forth at fast speeds.

With this, Kirito only sighed to himself, picking up a stone from the ground and fiddled with it in his hand. "Look, maybe you guys took it the wrong way. Here."

He began to raise his arm, the pebble between his fingers as his brain soothed itself. "If you get the first action right and activate a sword skill… like so…"

As he spoke, Klein and Josuke's eyes widened to see the stone glow a bright red before Kirito swung down his arm, throwing the pebble straight at the boar. The stone landed a sharp hit onto the mob's rump, knocking it back slightly and causing it to grunt in pain.

"… the system will correct your aim and ensure a hit. Try it." Kirito said.

Klein breathed slowly, raising his blade with both hands, racking his brain for the instructions given to him. "Right… action… action…"

"Hmmm… I think I got it." Josuke said, raising his fists and dodging the boar's charges.

"Hey, just pause for a second, and activate the skill. Once you do that, just let her rip." He said, managing a few quick punches on the boar's hide, hacking away at its health bar. Josuke then grabbed the boar by the tusks and redirected it toward Klein.

"Let her rip?...!-"

Upon seeing the player, the boar began to charge him with breathy snorts, its hooves kicking up dirt. But all of a sudden, Klein's senses were overtaken by instinct as he felt the game's mechanics guide his arms, illuminating his sword with a bright orange light.

Then Klein's eyes burst open wide as his legs rushed forward, his arm lashing out in front of him, almost as if the sword itself was pulling him across the field. With a loud battle cry, Klein slashed his blade across the boar's side, leaving a deep cut and lowering its health bar to the absolute zero.

With that, the mob exploded into a collection of blue crystals, and in its place, a menu popped up, rewarding Klein with EXP, Col, and item drops.

Smiling in victory, Klein and Josuke raised their fists in joy, dancing around the field while high-fiving each other.

"YEAH!"

"WE DID IT!"

"OHMIGOD YOU WERE _GREAT_!"

With all the celebration going on in front of him, Kirito couldn't help but share a high-five with Klein. "Congrats. But... that boar was just fodder, like slimes or something."

Upon hearing this, Klein's confidence shattered into a million pieces. "H-huh? Really? I thought it was some kinda mini-boss or somethin'!"

Hearing this, Josuke only chuckled to himself, turning to the hills to see several more boars spawning and roaming the fields. "I... guess not."

Klein groaned in defeat momentarily, before trying some practice swings with his sword. "Say... aren't there like, a ton of skills in this game like blacksmithing and stuff?" He asked with a thrust.

"Apparently, there should be an unlimited amount of skills, but there aren't any magic-based skills." Kirito informed Klein, much to his confusion.

"Huh? An RPG without magic? That's weird…" Klein muttered.

However, Josuke merely smiled at his answer, grasping him by the shoulder. "I dunno about you, but I kinda like the idea of using my own body and skills to fight. Why else do you think I prefer hand-to-hand?"

"Yeah, I see. I like your way of thinking, JoJo!" Klein agreed happily, causing Josuke to laugh and walk down the path.

"So, shall we continue on to the next arena?" He asked his clique, who all stood up in unison.

Klein then remembered the range he took fighting the boat and opened his menu. "Yeah, sure but I need to heal…"

Klein only stood blankly, looking at his health bar with his eyes ridden with confusion. "H-hey, Josuke? Does this game have health regen?"

"No, why?" Josuke replied blankly.

"I was sure that thing hurt me…" Klein muttered with his eyes glued to his health bar, which was completely full, only for Josuke to dismiss it.

"Eh, I think it was your imagination. Come on! You comin' or what?!" Josuke said loudly, causing Klein to quickly follow him.

However, Josuke discreetly dissipated the pink, muscular arm beside him, causing his light aura to fade away as he joined up with Kirito.

* * *

 **Several hours later…**

The three young men sat contently on the grass, resting after a long day of fighting mobs and collecting loot.

They sat down at the edge of the cliff of the floating island, feeling wind blow by their avatar's faces. They could hear the cries of dragons flying above and gazed in wonder at the beautiful sunset reflecting off of the lakes below.

"Wow…" Josuke muttered to himself quietly, enraptured by the beauty of the game's world.

"I still can't believe this whole thing is just a game… the creator must be a genius…" Klein added softly.

"Kayaba Akihiko? Yeah, he is. Did you know he designed the NerveGear too?" Kirito replied.

"Hmm… figures… I dunno about you guys, but I'm pretty glad to be born in this generation." Josuke responded with warmth, his chest filled with pride.

"You two are quite melodramatic…" Kirito noted indifferently.

"What can I say? I've never played a game like this before. I rushed to get my NerveGear because of SAO. I mean, we were lucky enough to be the few of the 10,000 players who got to play this game." Klein explained.

"I just got the NerveGear from my pops. He doesn't stay around much, but aside from helping my mom make me, I'd say this was the second best thing he's done for me." Josuke added, sharing Klein's admiration.

"And _you're_ even luckier, Kirito! I mean, you were one of the 1,000 Beta testers!" Klein noted, pointing to Kirito.

"Y-yeah. It was pretty cool." Kirito said with suppressed excitement.

"So.. how far did you get?" Klein asked him.

"It'd been five months since he got the game, and by the end of that, he'd only completed the eight floor." Josuke deadpanned.

"H-hey! This game is difficult, okay?!" Kirito rebutted, only for Josuke to snicker to himself.

"Anyways… I think I'd be able to complete all that in half the time it took me last time." Kirito declared proudly.

"You sound confident…" Josuke replied with a blank tone and a bead of sweat.

"You're pretty invested in this game, aren't you?" Klein asked curiously.

"Oh, what made that obvious? Tell that to countless messages flooding our chat about how much he loves this game more than his damn family!" Josuke jokingly responded.

"C-c'mon! You don't have to exaggerate!" Kirito whined mockingly, playing along with Josuke's game.

To this Klein began laughing with Josuke, much to Kirito's annoyance, but the teen quickly calmed himself before things escalated out of proportion.

"Heh. He isn't far off, y'know? Ever since the beta came out, it was the only thing on my mind all day and all night." Kirito began, catching the attention of his friends.

"In this world, a single blade is the only ticket, and although it may be a virtual world, I feel more alive here than I could ever be in real life." Kirito said, his chest puffing up with pride as he admired the gleam of light reflecting off of his sword.

Smiling, he returned his sword back into the sheath on his back and addressed his group. "So, shall we get back to hunting?"

Josuke and Klein smiled in return, and stood up for a response. "I'd love to! But... my mom'll kill me if I'm not back for dinner. Sorry, Kazu- err... Kirito." Josuke said, almost letting Kirito's real name slip his tongue.

"I think I'll call it a day too! I ordered a piping hot pizza for 5:30 in advance before logging in, and I've been waitin' all day to dig in! Hope you don't' mind! I'll log back in once I finish, I promise!" Klein boisterously declared with a smile.

"Anyways, after this, I'll be playin' with friends from another game! How about it? Y'guys wanna meet them? I'll introduce you!" Klein announced happily, only for Kirito to cringe slightly.

"U-umm..." Kirito muttered awkwardly, only for Josuke to speak up on his behalf.

"Forgive him, for the term 'friends' is foreign to him regarding everybody apart from me, apparently." Josuke joked, causing Kirito to flinch from all the blood rushing to his face.

"I-I have f-friends! Shut up!" Kirito whined jokingly, leaving Josuke to cackle wickedly at his expense.

With this, Klein laughed at their banter, and stood up. "Anyways, I think I'll take off for now! I'll be sure to find you guys again in this world someday! Maybe then I can repay my debt to you!"

"You don't owe us anything, but we'll be looking forward to seeing you around. Take care!" Josuke declared, shaking his hand and opening his menu to log out.

Josuke swiped down his menu and raised his eyebrow, unable to find the right button. This was odd. To have a game missing its logout button was definitely strange, but judging from Klein's prolonged presense and confused expression, he could tell this was definitely not good.

"S-say, Kirito..." Josuke began, causing the young gamer to turn his way.

"Yeah?"

"Where's the logout button?" He asked, a bit on edge, nearly summoning Crazy Diamond in his stress.

"It's there. Look harder." Kirito blankly replied, but Josuke wasn't convinced.

"I'm telling you, I can't find it!" The delinquent urged irately.

"It should be right..." Kirito opened his own menu to prove his point, only to find the button's title absent and no matter how much he tapped it, nothing happened.

"...W-what?" Klein muttered worriedly.

"I-it's the first day. This has to be a bug or somethin', right?" Josuke asked, worrying for the worst. But it wasn't wrong to hold on to hope. It wasn't like he was gonna be stuck here, right?

"I...I'm not so sure. It's been four and a half hours since the servers went online. If that were the case, I'm sure the management should've been alerted to the problem. Try calling the GMs or the Admins." Kirito suggested.

"I've tried. Nothing's happening. There has to be another way to log out, right?" Klein rebutted, clearly uneasy.

"No. The logout button on the player menu is the only way. We're stuck here." Kirito said gravely.

"N-no..." Klein began to panic, until a light bulb went off in his head.

"Oh! I know! I'll just remove the NerveGear..." He said, grasping his head with both hands, hoping his real body would act accordingly and take him away from the game world, but nothing happened.

"That won't work. The NerveGear is designed to intercept all brain signals regarding movement. As long as it's on our heads, we won't be able to move our real bodies." Kirito explained.

Josuke began thinking to himself. He had already tried using Crazy Diamond, but it appeared that he could not interact with the outside world at all. The situation was growing hopeless, and the trio began to become more agitated.

"S-so we can only wait for the bug fix, then?" Klein asked.

"That, or possibly if somebody in the real world removes it for you." Josuke reasoned.

"I live alone, though... you guys?" Klein dejectedly whimpered.

"I live alone with my mom. Same goes for Kirito, although he's got a sister." Josuke began to reply, only for Klein's eyes to go wide as he grasped Kirito's shoulders with an excited expression.

"How old is your sister?" Klein asked eagerly, only to feel a hand grasp his shoulder powerfully.

Turning around, Klein whimpered in fear as he saw Josuke glaring at him with a stare so menacing, the onomatopoeia could have might as well physically materialized next to him. His eyes were shaded by his hair, but his ice-cold expression stabbed into his heart like a knife.

" **Don't. Stick your dick. Where you'll regret.** " He spoke softly, yet with such a deadly aura, it Klein could feel the chill rising up his spine like a snake.

As soon as he let Klein go, Josuke returned to his normal personality, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"So... how are we gonna solve this?" Josuke asked.

"I dunno. The only hope we have is if the GMs reboot the servers, which will forcefully disconnect everyone, but it's been this long and nobody's lifted a finger." Kirito noted, causing Klein to nod his head gravely and Josuke to rub his forehead to calm himself.

But just that moment, the sound of bells rang throughout the Floor, reaching the trio's ears, echoing from Starting Town down to the valleys and floating islands where they were.

Kirito recognized the sound, but he said nothing, as he only waited in anticipation like the others. As the chimes sounded, nobody said a word, and just like that, they were gone.

* * *

 **Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1: Town of Beginnings)**

Kirito, Josuke, and Klein suddenly found themselves gone from the fields where they had been hunting and back in a familiar scene.

They were all back in the square at Starting Town, the wide-open space filled with confused players just starting to materialize into space in blue flashes of light.

"A forced teleport?" Kirito muttered, seeing everybody slightly on edge, obviously asking the same questions they had been.

But then as the bell's chimes stopped, Josuke pointed above him at a blinking alert above the square. "What's that?"

Before Kirito could answer, the "WARNING" alert formed a holographic red hexagon around itself, before constructing more hexagons around it, effectively forming a dome over the square.

As the sun shone through the translucent dome, a dim red light illuminated the square, adding to the tension and ominous atmosphere as players began to raise even more questions.

"What's goin' on?"

"Is this part of the opening ceremony?"

"I'm scared!"

"Hey, look!" Klein then pointed up at a section of the dome above them, appearing to drip a red blood-like fluid from it, but oddly enough, the liquid didn't drip down to the ground like they had expected.

Much to Josuke's confusion, the fluid began to arch to resemble a hammock, the liquid continuing to run and build up at the center, forming a bulbous mass growing from the center, sparking electricity.

"W-what's that?" Josuke asked nervously, only for Josuke to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. It's a GM announcement." He said, and sure enough, the liquid blob started taking shape, forming the appearance of a figure covered by a crimson cloak with golden trimming. Their face was completely obscured by the hood they had over their head, as it raised two gloved arms while looking over the crowd.

"Welcome gamers... to _my_ world." The figure spoke, in a dark, booming voice that echoed around the dome and ringing in the ears of the nervous players.

" _My_ world? Who is this guy?" Kirito asked quietly.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. I am currently the one person who holds this world, and therefore, your lives... in my two hands." He continued to say monotonously, covering the square in a fearful atmosphere.

"H-him? It can't be!" Many thought at once, remembering the alleged man's role in the creation of the NerveGear and the game.

"Now, I'm sure all of you have noticed that your logout button is absent from your player menu. Allow me to reassure you, for this is not a bug, but merely a feature of Sword Art Online. I repeat, this was an entirely intentional decision. All players are unable to disconnect from SAO." He continued to say, tapping his own logout button for reference.

This started to set the crowd off, as confused and scared voices spread through the crowd.

"A-a feature? H-how?" Josuke thought to himself in shock.

"On further notice, should a relative or friend from the real world attempt to remove any of your NerveGear headsets, you will still not be able to disconnect. Albeit, not safely." He continued, driving the atmosphere into more tension.

"Should it be attempted forcibly, a burst of microwave energy will be released from a transmitter which is installed into each of your headsets, effectively frying your brains and ending your lives."

While this announcement filled everybody with fear, most of the players began to wave it off.

"What's he sayin'?"

"He's just trying to get us riled up!"

"Let's go. This creeps me out."

Some players attempted to leave, only for them to quickly realize they were trapped inside by a forcefield surrounding the square.

"Nobody can leave during announcements like these." Kirito muttered under his breath.

"Microwaves? What the hell's he goin' on about?" Klein asked, waiting for his friends to answer.

"He's not wrong. The transmitters in the NerveGear can emit energy similar to microwaves, and frying a brain is possible if the safety's off." Kirito mumbled in response, feeling himself lose hope with every word.

Kayaba then began to speak further. "Unfortunately, it is possible that a parent, guardian or family member would ignore this warning and attempt to forcibly remove the NerveGear regardless. As of now, 213 players have already retired from real life and the game world."

With this, the trio's eyes shot wide open in shock. "213 people?!" Josuke exclaimed loudly.

"I can't believe it!" Klein added with equal gusto.

"I'm sure most of you are doubtful, but news of their demise and my warning have already gained international press, as you can see." Kayaba continued, opening holograms of webpages around him, each one playing news channels and websites.

Everyone looked on in horror to see the numerous accounts of families grieving, reports of the passings of young men and women and of Kayaba's warning spreading across the internet.

"Seeing that my warning has been made clear to the world, I can assure your safety as you attempt to finish the game. However..." Kayaba continued on, stopping ominously.

"Keep this crucial detail in mind. All methods of revival in-game have been terminated and thus will no longer function." This detail caught the attention of the crowd most, bringing the tension up to a crescendo.

"H-he can't mean..." Josuke muttered in horror, fearing the worst alongside everybody listening.

"Therefore, as soon as your health bar reaches zero, your avatar will perish for all eternity. And at that moment, the NerveGear will destroy your brain, killing you."

This final notice gripped the crowd in pure terror, earning a collection of gasps and muffled cries, while others merely stared in shock. Josuke's anger began to rise, leading him to grip his fist to suppress himself.

"In order to regain your freedom, there is only one condition you must meet. You must complete the game." Kayaba explained further.

"You currently stand on the 1st Floor, the lowest point on Aincrad. Conquer a Floor Dungeon by defeating its Floor Boss, and the level will be cleared, allowing all players access to the level above. Assuming one of you defeats the 100th boss on the top floor, the game will be cleared, allowing everybody to disconnect safely." Kayaba said.

However, the crowd riled up in outrage and disbelief.

"Clear all 100 floors?!"

"How're we gonna do that?"

"The beta testers never even made it _near_ that!"

"That's impossible!"

"Lastly, I have prepared a present for you all. It should be delivered to each of your inventories now." Kayaba said, causing Kirito's brows to raise.

Opening his menu, sure enough he found a notification for a new item in his inventory. Tapping on the notice, the item automatically materialized into his hand.

"A... mirror?" Josuke asked, staring at the small object with confusion.

Suddenly, a loud hum sounded from around them, before echoing throughout the square. The pair then looked to the side, seeing their friend being engulfed in a shining light.

"Klein?!" Kirito yelled out in worry, before he himself, along with everybody around him was blasted with the same brightness from the mirrors in their hands.

As soon as the light subsided, Kirito blinked slowly, his eyes trying to clear from the sudden flash. Stunned, he rubbed his head, trying to bring himself back to his senses, when he heard a voice behind him.

"You okay, Kirito?"

Kirito turned to address his friend, only to be shocked to see someone looking completely different. He definitely had Klein's voice, but his hair was different, a light brown and spiky, all tied up by a bandanna. He had the appearance of a man in his 20's, with a light scruff lining his chin and pointing up under his lower lip.

"W-who are you?" He asked, confused.

"I think that's my line." The man replied, causing Kirito's eyes to look down at the mirror in his hands. He only stared in shock at his own face, realizing that he now looked exactly like he did in real life, with his large eyes and youthful features.

All around him, the crowd gave each other astonished looks, and he also noted that the number of female players had dropped sharply.

"Creeps. Must've all been pervert guys choosing female avatars..." Kirito thought to himself in disgust.

"Then that means..." The man in front of him said as he put the pieces together.

"You're Klein/Kirito?" They asked each other in unison

"H-how?" Klein asked in confusion.

"The scan... remember when we needed to scan our bodies for 'calibration'?" Kirito recalled, causing Klein's eyes to widen, before turning to a familiar grunt beside them.

"W-what the hell's going on?" Josuke muttered, rising to his feet, standing tall to his full height at 185 cm, causing Kirito and Klein to gawk at him in shock.

"J-JoJo... did you change?" Klein asked.

"I... think so... why?" Josuke asked, confused.

"W-were you always this tall?" Kirito asked. He had seen Josuke's face over the chat, but he had no idea how big he was in real life.

"My dad tells me it runs in the family..." He stated awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"How old are you exactly?" Klein asked curiously.

"15. Why do you ask?" Josuke answered, causing Klein and Kirito to fall over backwards from shock.

"W-why would he do this?" Josuke muttered, grasping his forehead in stress.

"I'm sure he'll answer your question soon enough." Kirito said, gesturing to Kayaba's massive form.

"I am sure many of you are asking yourselves, "Why?" "Why would Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of SAO do such a thing?" Well, to answer your questions, I have already done what I aimed to achieve. I created SAO purely for my own entertainment, and the preparations have already been set in place. This concludes the tutorial for the official release of Sword Art Online. Farewell and good luck."

With these parting words, Kayaba's GM avatar began to glitch as the red fluid that composed the avatar leaked out of his arms and cloak, climbing back up into the ceiling like smoke.

Soon, the avatar was completely gone, and the red dome immediately disappeared from the square, leaving the confused crowd frozen in shock and horror.

Nobody spoke a word and it was so quiet, one could hear a pin drop in the distance. Kirito only stood in place, his thoughts running rampant.

" _This is... reality._ " He thought, clenching his fist in his hand to suppress his anger and despair.

"This has to be a joke. Tell me it's a joke!" Josuke said desperately to his friend.

"Kayaba Akihiko was a genius, and created the world's first true virtual world. Everything he said was the truth... and I know that he stands by what he just said... it's life or death from now on." Kirito gravely said, his eyes filled with fear.

Eventually, the crowds began to rile up, spreading a wave of panic throughout the square, with different voices yelling out hopelessly into the air.

"Log me out already!"

"Please! I got a life to live!"

"I don't wanna die here!"

"Tell us you're kidding!"

Seeing the forcefield drop, Josuke grabbed Kirito and Klein by their shoulders and began making a mad dash for the exit. "Guys, come on! Hurry!"

Swerving through the crowd, the trio ran through the streets of Starting Town, eventually stopping to breathe in a nearby alley.

"So... what's the plan?" Josuke asked his friends.

"I'm heading to the next town as soon as I can. You guys should come with. If everything Kayaba said was true, then we need to strengthen ourselves as quickly as we can." Kirito said to his friends.

"Right... if we wait around, the other players will wipe the fields of mobs." Klein agreed.

"Yes. That's why we move to the next area as soon as we can. That way, we don't have to deal with competition, and we can level up to our leisure." Kirito said to Klein, tapping on his map to show the route.

"I dunno. I've got friends who are also playing. They're probably back at the square. I ain't abandoning them. You okay with a few more members to your circle?" Klein asked the younger player.

Kirito frowned. He could handle at least a couple, but tending to an entire group would not work, especially if he had to divvy up the drops.

"Y'know what? Forget it." Klein said instead, much to Kirito's surprise.

"H-huh?"

"I can't have you always lookin' out for me, right? Head on to the next town, and don't worry about me!" Klein reasoned happily.

"It's decided, then. Hope you don't mind an extra pair of fists, do you?" Josuke asked Kirito.

"Yeah. Sounds great." Kirito agreed with a smile, tapping his menu to add Josuke into his guild, smiling when his username popped up on the display.

"Y'know, in the last game I played, I was the leader of my guild! I'll be fine with all the tips you gave me!" Klein proclaimed proudly.

"Well, guess this is goodbye then?" Kirito asked Klein, offering a hand to shake.

"Yeah. See you two around." Klein said in agreement, giving the boy a firm shake of the hand.

As the pair walked down the alley, Klein spoke up for the last time. "H-hey, Kirito?"

"Yeah?"

"Y-you have a cute face." He said, causing Josuke to cover his mouth with his mouth to hold in his laughter.

Through red cheeks, Kirito managed a smile and answered, "That unkempt face suits you way more!"

"See ya, buddy!" Josuke yelled out to his friend before running off with Kirito down the streets of Starting Town.

* * *

 **Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1, West Field)**

A million thoughts ran through Josuke's mind.

Waking up. A thought that crossed Josuke's mind that morning. The day of his birthday, and his first day trapped in a death game. Now, there was a significantly higher chance that soon, he'd close his eyes and never open them again. Every new day from now on would be a battle of life and death.

Josuke's life was always a bizarre one, but this day definitely topped his list. He ran down the road, crossing the West Fields of Level 1, passing by grazing mobs and towering mountains with his best friend.

Ever since he'd met him, he always knew Kirito loved this game, and after a day online, Josuke now finally understood what he really meant.

To feel free, to feel unrestrained, to be more than you could ever be in real life. He thought about his mom, who was probably worrying her butt off, and his father who would be trying everything he could to help him. He was gonna miss them, and the thought of never coming back to his house with his kind, caring mother scared him deeply.

"Josuke!" Kirito said to him, alerting his attention.

Looking ahead of him, the teen saw what appeared to be a wolf mob charging them from down the road.

"Let's do this!" Josuke said, clenching his fists in determination.

Josuke ran ahead of Kirito, discreetly summoning Crazy Diamond, his Stand's arms blending with his own for extra strength.

With a loud battle cry, Josuke lowered his fist, pink energy glowing from it, and threw it upwards with an uppercut, throwing the wolf into the air as its head jerked backwards from the force.

"Now!" Josuke called to his friend while kneeling down, leading Kirito to jump on his back for leverage, launching himself into the air while raising his sword, trailing blue energy from its blade.

The weapon's blade pierced the mob's chest, impaling it and causing it to disintegrate into blue crystals, rewarding both players with EXP, Col and items.

" _May fortune shine on me... and my Crazy Diamond..."_

* * *

 **? Showcase**

 **Lv. ?: Crazy Diamond** **–** **?**

 **Special: Ability to heal or restore any object, mob or player without use of items.**

 **Enhancement: N/A**

 **Damage: 500 (S)**

 **Speed: 900 (S)**

 **Durability: 500 (A)**

 **Range: 2m (B)**

 **Precision: 85% (A)**

 **Rank: Unique (S)**

 **Selling Price: N/A**

 **Owner: JoJo**

* * *

 **Next up: Lv. 1 Cleared!**

 **Hello! Let me just clear up a few things. Here, Joseph is Stardust Crusaders age, and he's more caring for Josuke. Here, I will be referring to characters in-game as their usernames except for Josuke, but all characters apart from Kirito refer to him as "JoJo". And now, let's talk Stands. Since Stands don't really follow the logic of reality, I'm going to assume this also applies in virtual reality. Basically, other players can see Stands in-game, and Stands still inflict pain onto a player, regardless of their setting and damage transfers to their real bodies, but if a user's Stand is hurt in-game, the damage cannot be repaired by in-game healing mechanics and must be treated from the real world. By the way, did y'all know my birthday was on the 22nd? Anyways, like always, feel free to tell me what you think, what you want, and head to my profile to check out my other fic and to tell me what you want next! See ya next time!**


	2. Diamond in the Rough

**Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1, Tolbana) December 2, 2022**

Josuke walked calmly with the boy he called his best friend, his mind running rampant, pondering the events that took place since that fateful day the month before.

Josuke had been spending that time scouring the floor with Kirito, grinding off of mobs and clearing quests to level up and beef up their gear. Josuke never fancied himself as a gamer, but he had what most other players in the game lacked: skill.

The skill system of SAO was fairly simple. The further one leveled up, the more skills they would be able to learn. While it was possible to move however you wished like in the real world, attacking without skills was slower, weaker than a love tap from a boar, and completely ineffective.

The skills were like remembering combos in a fighting game. The more you could master, the stronger fighter you would become. Josuke himself went through plenty of trouble to wrap his head around it, but thankfully, Kirito was there to show him the ropes.

Sadly, 2,000 people were not as lucky. A good portion of the people chose to stay in The Town of Beginnings, scrounging up whatever Col they possessed to buy shelter and scraps of food. Unfortunately, they quickly learned that there wasn't enough room for everyone, and those who did try to go out on their own were quickly struck down by mobs due to their lack of experience.

Some of the people who died simply gave up. Outside Aincrad was nothing but a vast expanse of cloudy sky, and a handful of people decided to test out whether Kayaba was telling the truth. Long story short, those people were the first dead.

Normally, players would respawn in the Black Iron Castle overlooking the square in The Town of Beginnings, but in that space was nothing but a massive board, with each of the 10,000 players' names engraved on it. Every player who died had their name crossed out, with a time and condition of death written next to it, and more names were being crossed out by the weeks.

Josuke had learned rather quickly that he could use Crazy Diamond inside the game, and that was a massive relief. However, he also learned pretty quickly that there had to be drawbacks. On one instance, a yellowjacket swarm had attacked the two of them, and Crazy Diamond was stung in the shoulder. Shortly after that, Josuke could feel pain and throbbing in the same spot in his own shoulder, and no amount of healing potions or items could relieve the pain until a couple days later.

See, in SAO, nobody actually felt pain, but it appeared that his Stand still affected his real body. With this in mind, Josuke had made it a rule to himself to only bring out his Stand when absolutely necessary to keep himself safe from danger and jealous players.

"So, is this the place?" Josuke asked Kirito, who was walking beside him through the streets of Tolbana.

"Yeah. Let's hope this guy's got something good to say." Kirito answered, opening his menu to see the alert he had received.

After a month and 2,000 dead, the biggest despair among the players thus far was the fact that the first boss had not even been defeated yet. Some of the more organized players and guilds have been helping out, searching high and wide for the dungeon.

Josuke had once asked Kirito if he knew of its location, being a Beta tester. Sadly, they quickly learned that the location was changed from the original.

A few days ago, everybody received an alert from a player calling himself Diabel, calling them to assemble at Tolbana Square for an important announcement.

Having leveled up rather substantially, the duo naturally packed up and went on their way. They had a game to clear, after all.

* * *

 **Weapon Showcase:**

 **Lv. 10 One-Handed Sword: Anneal Blade – This humble sword has seen many battles and slain many foes, and now it answers to the call of the warrior who takes it up next.**

 **Special: Horizontal Sword Skills deal 30% more damage**

 **Enhancement: +6**

 **Damage: 200 (A)**

 **Speed: 175 (B)**

 **Durability: 225 (B)**

 **Range: 1m (C)**

 **Precision: 85% (A)**

 **Rank: Quest Reward (A)**

 **Selling Price: 8,000 Col**

 **Owner: Kirito**

* * *

 **Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1, Tolbana)**

Josuke and Kirito walked through the streets of the town, looking to their right and left to see other players going about their business, chatting, trading or walking to the square like them.

The square composed of an amphitheater, similar to those of Ancient Greek design, the seats lining a semi-circle sloping downwards, enclosing a stage down below, where a man stood looking up at the audience.

Several others had gathered, each taking a seat on one of the many rows, all of them looking down intently at the man down below.

The man had somewhat long blue hair, parting at his forehead reaching down in two strands to his collarbone. He was dressed in matching-colored armor with beige stripes, covered by gray-brown armor over his chest, shoulders and forearms. He clapped his hands together, the sounds echoing around the amphitheater and grabbing everyone's attention.

"Alright! Looks like we got enough people! Let's get this meeting started!" He called out in a loud voice.

"Seems to be the leader type." Kirito noted with a bored expression. He had seen several people take up personas such as these since the game started. A lot of them managed to start up rather strong guilds due to their charisma and social skills, but a handful only succeeded in leading their guilds to quick deaths due to their incompetence.

"Thank you all for responding to my invitation! My name's Diabel, and my class is Knight!" He proclaimed proudly, only for the crowd to laugh unanimously at him, Kirito included.

"Uh... what's so funny?" Josuke asked him, not catching their drift.

"There aren't any class systems in the game. It's more of which skills you choose to upgrade or which weapons you use." Kirito explained, causing Josuke to nod his head as he mumbled in understanding.

"Haha, very funny... But that aside, let's get down to business!" Diabel said, clapping his hands together, calling for the crowd's silence.

Once the chatter died down, Diabel's expression stiffened, becoming more serious. "Today, my party and I were searching around, and we found the boss room on the highest point of the floor!"

This news sparked a wave of surprise to spread through the crowd. After a month of fruitless endeavors, hearing this sparked a new ray of hope. The hope that they could actually beat the game would inspire everybody, and would be a monumental step forward.

"By beating this floor's boss and reaching the second floor, we can show everyone back at Starting town that this death game _can_ be cleared! As the strongest, it's our responsibility! Don't you agree, everyone?" His confident words resonated with the audience, causing some to start applauding and cheering, before the entire crowd had his support. Kirito smiled in admiration, while Josuke clapped with the crowd.

As soon as the cheering of the crowd died down, Diabel continued to speak. "Right! So, now I'd like to discuss our strategies dealing with the boss, so everybody group up into parties of six!"

Upon hearing this, Kirito's eyes widened. Josuke only looked at his confused expression with a questioning look. Kirito himself was never a social person, and while he understood the importance of working in groups, he simply wasn't good at talking to people or working together, being a solo player for most of his time playing MMOs.

Soon, everybody had grouped up, leaving Kirito and Josuke alone together. "Hey, man. What's wrong?" The taller teen asked him.

"I'm... uh... How do I put this... I-I'm... not good with people..." Kirito muttered under his breath, embarrassed. To this Josuke only stared at him momentarily, before chuckling lightly, evolving into a full-out guttural laugh.

"HAHAHAHAAaa... Oh my god, you really are a loser!" Josuke laughed cruelly at his friend, whose face turned red in an instant.

"S-shut up!" Kirito squeaked in response, lighly punching him in the arm, causing his laughter to die down, Josuke wiping a tear from his eye.

"Okay, but seriously. Let's find ourselves a partner." Josuke said to Kirito, who nodded in response. Looking to his side, Kirito spotted someone else sitting on their own.

They seemed to be a young woman who wore a maroon cloak that covered her eyes, with white pants and what seemed to be light peach-colored hair peeking from under her hood. Holstered at her right side was a rapier and she sat silently.

"Hmm? What's this? Do my eyes deceive me? A girl in SAO?" Josuke asked, almost too loudly.

"D-dude! Keep your voice down!" Kirito hurriedly piped up, his embarrassed blush covering his face.

"Talk to her, man! Who knows! Maybe she's actually good-looking!" Josuke egged him on, pushing him towards her, much to his protest. Females in the game came pretty rarely, and everybody knew that. Perhaps even rarer were those that actually were attractive. These beauties were so few in number, one could count them off with their fingers, and given they didn't die easily or already taken, they would most likely have hardened themselves too far to be wooed by the average player looking for love.

Soon, both of them had scooched up to the girl's right, as Kirito sat awkwardly. "S-so, um... Nobody wanted to be friends with you?" Kirito asked softly, causing the girl's head to turn slowly his way before looking away.

"Everyone seemed to be friends already, so I didn't want to bother them." She replied monotonously, yet softly, hinting at her awkwardness.

"You a solo player? How's about you party with us?" Josuke asked her, causing her to flinch ever so slightly.

"Look, he said we can't fight the boss alone. This'll be a one-time thing. Once this is over, we can go our separate ways and forget this ever happened." Kirito said to her, only for Josuke to pull him in closer by the collar of his shirt.

"What the hell, man! You're just gonna let this go?! This girl could change your life, and you're just gonna let this slide?! We could be stuck in this game for years!" Josuke whisper-yelled into Kirito's face, causing him to stutter incoherently.

"I-I dunno! You know I can't talk to people, m-much less girls!" Kirito responded with an equal tone, only for a foreign voice to interrupt.

"S-sure thing."

Both teens looked up from their banter to see the girl nodding her head. Josuke and Kirito looked at each other for a moment, before reassuming their sitting positions.

"Right... so that settles it." Kirito noted, opening his menu to invite the girl into their party. An alert popped up on the girl's menu, causing her to open it, revealing an invite confirmation. Hesitating for a second, the girl tapped the blue button, joining their group.

With that, her health bar and username appeared under both of theirs. Kirito looked closer, seeing her username. "Asuna? Hmm..." He thought silently, before Diabel spoke up again.

"Alright! So everyone's partied up? Now, let's-" He began, only for a new voice to interrupt.

"Hold it!"

Everybody looked up to see a player standing on the edge of the square. He wore checkered steel armor over the default vest and a white shirt. He had a small goatee and spiky brown hair. He was short, but his face was riddled with a fiery demeanor.

"Name's Kibaou, and I got somethin' I wanna get off my chest!" He announced loudly after jumping down to the center stage.

"I'm positive that there's some guys here that should be apologizin' to those that died!" He said, pointing accusingly amongst the audience.

"Err... Kibaou, was it? You're referring to the beta testers, am I right?" Diabel asked with a raised eyebrow, reluctant to address a rather touchy subject.

"Of course, I am! Who else would I be talkin' about?!" Kibaou angrily replied, causing Kirito to flinch in his seat.

"Ever since this crappy game started, the beta testers immediately disappeared and left us newbies in the dust! They took over the good hunting grounds and quests, takin' all the rewards for themselves! What's more, they even had the balls to pretend like they didn't know any better! They didn't care about us! They only cared about themselves!" Kibaou ranted on loudly, causing the crowd to grow restless, some even muttering in agreement.

"I know some of those slimeballs are here! So I demand that they come down here and give up the items and gear they stole from us!" Kibaou demanded.

"If they don't, I _refuse_ to entrust my life in the hands of these selfish bastards!" Kibaou finished, spreading whispers and murmurs throughout the audience.

Josuke looked to his side to see Kirito's eyes shaking, and with what Kibaou said earlier, it was easy to see why. As beta testers, they had a significant advantage over other players due to their prior knowledge of the game and its mechanics. After the first day, many of them, Kirito included decided to go off on their own, roaming the floor and exploiting quests and hunting grounds, grinding for gear, Col and EXP while everybody else wandered around cluelessly.

Despite the fact that some beta testers volunteered to share their knowledge with the others, some even starting their own guilds and selling info to other players, most of the beta testers were solo players or hung out with other beta testers, refusing to work with those they considered dead weight, and this earned them quite a rep amongst the community.

Just as Kirito seemed to be about to oblige to Kibaou's demands, Josuke moved to talk some sense into him, only to be interrupted by a new voice.

"Mind if I say something?"

Everybody turned towards him, shocked by what they saw. Not only was he a contender for "players taller than JoJo" with a large body bulging with muscle, but his skin was a very dark brown. Considering the fact that every SAO player now had their real face and body, this man appeared to be a foreigner, most likely African-American.

He had no hair on his head, except for a beard lining his chin. Instead of the default shirt, he wore a sleeveless vest covered by armor, with a double-headed axe slung over his back. Walking up to Kibaou, he towered over him as he spoke.

"My name is Agil. So Kibaou, you're saying that the beta testers should take responsibility for the deaths of the many players this past month by offering their items as compensation because they didn't look after us new players, am I right?" He spoke with a deep voice to match his physique.

"Y-yeah." Kibaou answered, a bit softer in intimidation of the massive man.

In response, Agil sighed and opened his menu. Tapping an item on his inventory, a small book materialized in his hand. "This is the guidebook. I'm sure you have one as well. After all, it was up for free at the item store."

"Of course, I do! What about it?" Kibaou asked in confusion, opening his own menu to grab his own copy of the guidebook.

"This book was written with instructions and tips by former beta testers." Agil clarified, causing the crowd to gasp in surprise as they muttered amongst one another. Kibaou on the other hand, growled under his breath.

Josuke's eyes widened when he heard this and turned to Kirito. "No way, really?"

Kirito turned to his friend, smiling softly. "Yeah, actually. I even helped write some parts of it. Not that it was important. Just some weapon stats and sword skill lessons."

"This information was accessible to everybody, yet some people still died. The beta testers did all they could. Now, I'd like to do what I came here to do: to discuss how to defeat this floor's boss and to learn from these deaths." Agil announced to the crowd, leading them to mutter in agreement. Turning to Kibaou, the shorter player glared at him, before strutting back to his seat, pouting haughtily. Agil sighed and did the same, taking his seat next to Kibaou.

"Alright, now may I continue?" Diabel spoke up, everyone turning their attention to him as he spoke up.

Once everyone settled down, he took the guidebook from his inventory and opened it up. "Good. Now, about the boss, the guidebook actually has information on its latest version from the beta. According to this, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he has mobs called Ruin Kobold Sentinels guarding him."

"His arms consist of an axe and a buckler shield, but when the last of his health bars turns red, he'll switch to a curved sword called a talwar and his attack patterns will change." Diabel read off of the book, inciting mutters from the crowd.

"That info's legit..."

"Sounds like a plan..."

"I'm up for it!"

Closing the book, Diabel placed it back in his inventory. "Alright, so that concludes the meeting for today! But before we do that, let's talk about loot distribution. Money will be automatically distributed, EXP goes to the party to finish it, and items to whoever can land the last hit. If anyone disagrees, say so now!"

The crowd nodded their heads and murmured in agreement, causing the blue-haired player to smile with a nod of his own. "Right! We leave at ten tomorrow morning, so be prepared! You're all dismissed!"

With that, the audience stood up and dispersed into the city. Some, like Agil and Kibaou met up with Diabel while others met up with their parties. Kirito was about to get up when he looked to his side to see Asuna had already turned tail and walked into the city.

"Who is she?" He asked himself silently, getting up to leave, motioning for Josuke to follow suit.

* * *

 **Weapon Showcase:**

 **Lv. 8 Fists: Golem Arms – Taken as trophies from the fearsome golems of the mountains, these hands have been said to have helped build Aincrad itself.**

 **Special: Resistance to mobs increased by 15%**

 **Enhancement: +2**

 **Damage: 175 (B)**

 **Speed: 150 (C)**

 **Durability: 300 (A)**

 **Range: 75cm (D)**

 **Precision: 70% (B)**

 **Rank: Rare (B)**

 **Selling Price: 5,000 Col**

 **Owner: JoJo**

* * *

 **Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1, Tolbana) December 2, 2022**

The night was filled with festivity as the members of the raid party drank into the night, bonding as brothers in arms. Kibaou took a swig with Diabel in the town park, alongside other players each with glasses of their own.

The town of Tolbana was filled with cheer and hope once Diabel spread the news that they were finally making a push for the second floor. The hopeless saps at Starting Town were especially overjoyed, knowing that they had something to aim towards, a goal that finally seemed approachable.

But in a darker corner of the town, Asuna was seated by herself, grasping a piece of bread in her hands. She stared questioningly at the loaf of digital bread. Everybody had come to get used to the fact that food in this game did not actually supplement the physical body. Players could go hungry in-game, but eating food would only relieve the hunger, but the real body would be unaffected.

If their nutrients were indeed provided from the outside, they came to realize that overspending on food was unwise. It wasn't as if diet was going to change the body image the game had scanned on the first day, anyways. With this in mind, Asuna clenched her teeth around the bread, tearing off a piece and chewing down. The bread was lacking in distinctive flavor but was soft enough for her to chew easily and swallow it.

It wasn't the best the game could provide, but it was enough to satisfy her for the day. Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching, she turned her head towards the noise before shrinking back into her hood.

"It's good, isn't it?" Kirito asked, stepping out from one of the alleys along with Josuke.

"Mind if we take a seat here?" Josuke asked her, to which she did not answer, instead opting to turn away from them shyly, scooching over to the far end.

With that, Kirito took out a loaf of bread similar to Asuna's from his inventory, handing one to his friend, who nodded in thanks and dug in.

"Y-you think it's good?" Asuna asked them meekly.

"Hm?" Kirito looked up from his bread, turning to the girl between his chews.

"Yeah, we've been trying to eat these at least once a day since we arrived in this town." Josuke replied, scarfing down another bite.

"We put a little twist on it, though. See for yourself." Kirito added, pulling out an item from his inventory. A small vial appeared in his hand, which he set down next to Asuna.

Asuna stared curiously at the small vial from under her hood, her hand slowly reaching out to grasp it. Tapping the lid softly, her finger began to glow with a bright circle appearing around it, flinching as she saw the vial shatter into tiny crystals, having fulfilled its purpose. Gasping softly, she observed the effect curiously, and held her bread in her other hand.

Tracing her finger over the bread, her face was overwritten by surprise when a pale paste was traced from her finger onto the bread's crust.

"Cream?..."

Waiting for an answer, she looked to Kirito, who merely sat contentedly, eating his bread. Josuke on the other hand, looked at her with a confused expression. "What's wrong? Doesn't it look good?"

Pausing for a minute, Asuna looked down at her own loaf hesitantly, and then took a small bite. After a few moments, she didn't move, but quickly began to wolf down the bread in her hands until nothing was left, causing her to breathe a sigh of satisfaction.

"I actually got that item from a quest back in another town, called "The Cow Strikes Back."" Kirito said, causing Josuke to chuckle lightly under his breath.

"Still think that's a stupid name." Josuke snickered.

"Hey, I didn't hear you laughing when that bull rammed you in the balls." Kirito laughed, prompting Josuke to laugh harder.

Seeing their banter, Asuna couldn't help but feel the edges of her lips curving into a smile. But this quickly faded as she spoke up softly. "T-that's nice of you... but I didn't come here to enjoy myself."

"Neither did we. So, why're you here?" Josuke asked her curiously, leaning back into his seat.

"So I could remain as myself. I'd rather survive as myself rather than rot away at an inn back in Starting Town. This game... I won't give in to it. I won't give up, no matter how far off the deep end I go." Asuna said solemnly, her voice wavering slightly.

Kirito took his eyes off of his meal for once, and looked her in the eye (at least, figuratively because she wore a hood). "Hey, I'd rather not have a party member die on us. Try to keep yourself alive a little longer. That'd do us a great favor."

"Aww, look at our little boy! He's learning to talk to people!" Josuke teased Kirito, grabbing him in a headlock and grinding his fist into his skull, giving the boy a noogie.

"Shut up, dude! God! L-let go already!" Kirito whined as he struggled to escape Josuke's grasp, albiet fruitlessly as he was endlessly attacked by the teen's noogies.

Asuna looked at the two arguing and joking around, and for the first in a very long time, she let out a small giggle from her lips. Maybe she could indeed be happy here.

* * *

 **Weapon Showcase:**

 **Lv. 10 One-Handed Sword: Wind Fleuret – This rapier is a weapon of class, elegance and precision. Those who wield this blade have been said to flow gracefully like petals in the breeze as well as cut down monsters faster than lightning can strike.**

 **Special: Speed is boosted by 10% for 5 seconds upon kill**

 **Enhancement: +4**

 **Damage: 150 (C)**

 **Speed: 300 (A)**

 **Durability: 175 (C)**

 **Range: 1m (C)**

 **Precision: 90% (S)**

 **Rank: Rare (B)**

 **Selling Price: 6,000 Col**

 **Owner: Asuna**

* * *

 **Sword Art Online, Aincrad (Lv. 1, Illfang's Tower) December 3, 2022**

On the day of the raid, everybody was excited. Everybody met at 9 at the square to discuss strategies with their parties, and Diabel was tasked with assigning each party to a role. During this time, he was quite insistent on Kirito, Josuke and Asuna bringing up the rear, taking on the Sentinel guards.

Shortly after this, the party set off, cheered on by civilian players. Kirito was slightly intimidated, as was Asuna, but quickly smiled and got into the moment, waving back to the other players as they ventured off into the forest fields.

As they walked through the forest, Josuke spoke up. "So, let's review the plan."

"Right. So Diabel told us to target the Sentinels." Kirito repeated.

"I know." Asuna muttered under her breath.

"Right, so after you deflect their spears with your sword skills, Asuna and I move in for the kill. Sound good, Asuna?" Josuke replied, turning to the hooded girl, whose expression remained unchanged.

"S-switch?" Asuna asked meekly, causing Josuke and Kirito to gawk at her in surprise.

"Y-y'know, switch! After an ally blocks a hit, a party member goes in and attacks while the enemy is distracted! Haven't you been in a party before?" Josuke asked her, only for her to whimper silently.

"N-no... actually, I haven't..." Asuna replied softly, walking ahead.

With this, Kirito leaned in close to Josuke, whispering to him. "D'you think you could bring _it_ out? It would be a game changer!"

With this, Josuke began to feel sweat forming on his brow. "D-dude! I told you! Only when I really need to! Remember what happened last time? We used up half our healing items and they didn't do anything!"

"Right... but promise me this, Josuke. Promise me that you _will_ do it when the time is right." Kirito said, looking at the delinquent in the eye.

Hearing Kirito say his real name out loud shook him, but nonetheless, he sighed hesitantly. "Fine. But only if things get bad. Alright, Kazuto?" Josuke answered, referring to his friend by his real name to emphasize the weight of the situation.

Smiling, Kirito nodded his head in response. "Yeah. Now let's get going. We got a boss to kill."

After some time trekking through the woods, the raid group ended up at the base of the tower, a massive pillar of stone erected from the dense woods. At its base was a spiraling staircase, climbing up to the top of the tower, which connected to the "sky", which was the ceiling.

Some minutes later, the party reached the top of the stairs, where a small chamber was located. The room was dimly lit by two bowls of fire standing opposite ends of a massive stone door, which was beautifully decorated with engravings.

As soon as everybody had recovered from the long journey, Diabel stepped forward and plunged his sword into the ground, both his hands resting atop the hilt.

"Listen up, everyone. Before we do this, I got something to say to each and every one of you guys." Diabel said, his voice solemn in the ears of every player in the room.

"Let's win this! For everyone back at Starting Town! For our loved ones at home! Let's show them that we _can_ do this!" Diabel proclaimed, causing the players to rile up and harden with determination.

"Let's go!"

With that, Diabel pushed the door open, revealing a massive hallway upheld by pillars on each side. At the end of the hallway, a huge throne made of stone loomed over, and sitting on top of it was a massive mob, its eyes glowing a bright red as soon as the first players entered the room.

Suddenly, the dungeon lit up brightly, illuminating the entire room as the boss jumped forth. Illfang the Kobold Lord was a large mob, its fat form towering over the average player. Its body was covered in muted red fur, and its pointed ears, toothed snout and muscular tail resembled something of a kangaroo's. In its hands it held a one-headed axe and a small circular shield.

The beast roared at the top of its lungs as its four health bars appeared next to it, along with its name appearing on top of its head, similar to a player's.

Beside the boss, three smaller mobs spawned, about the size of the average player. They were almost entirely covered in knight's armor, but pointed ears and tails stuck out and they each held a mace with both hands.

With a roar, all four mobs rushed the raid party in a mad sprint, ready to shed blood. With this, Diabel raised his sword and yelled out. "Advance!"

With that, the raid party let out a primal war cry as the numerous players ran forth with their own weapons at the mobs.

The Sentinels had squads A, E and D occupied, using their maces to deflect strikes from the players, and dishing out punishment of their own, badly depleting some players' health bars. The players began employing their strategies, blocking swings and letting others strike.

Despite this, the Sentinels each had fairly high levels of health, and a swing was barely enough to cut them down. Meanwhile, Squads B, F and C were engaging Illfang, but he was far more difficult to handle than the Sentinels, as his shield provided incredible defence, while his axe was able to cut down waves of players in a single swing.

Nonetheless, they all kept up with the plan, cutting down the boss's health bars by the minute. Illfang attempted to swing down his axe on Squad F, only for a shield-user to catch the strike and parry it, stunning Illfang for the briefest moment.

"There! B and C, switch!" Diabel called out as he swung at a Sentinel. Squads B and C then moved in, swiping relentlessly at the boss's body, causing it to growl in pain and initiate its next attack.

"Watch out! Squad F, block!" Diabel yelled, prompting Agil to swing his axe in the way, parrying Illfang's swing, holding the boss back and pushing him off for another attack by Kibaou.

"That's it! Squad C, keep on guarding and prepare to switch! Keep it up and target the flank! D! E! A! Keep those Sentinels off us!" Diabel yelled out orders, in a manner akin to a seasoned drill sergeant.

"Got it!" Kirito replied, preparing his own sword and attacking a Sentinel. Raising his sword, he managed to block a slam from a Sentinel, and pushed the mob off of him. "Now! Switch!"

With this, Asuna dashed forward, her arm coiled back with her rapier. "That's it! This is the last one!" She yelled out, her sword glowing with turquoise light.

With that, she stopped in front of th Sentinel, unleashing a flurry of rapid stabs with her blade, the attack so fast that the Sentinel was already flying backwards before it could calculate its next move.

Kirito could only look on in awe at her technique. "Wow... I thought she was just another newbie... but her dexterity is amazing! I can't even see the tip of her blade!"

"Now!" Asuna yelled, prompting Josuke to run forward, his forearms covered by stone fists. With a powerful uppercut to the stomach, the Sentinel jerked upwards, only to meet Josuke's fist again to its head, sending it crashing on the ground before it exploded into a series of crystals.

"Great job, guys!" Josuke cheered on, giving a thumbs-up for good measure. With this, Kirito and Asuna smiled, while nodding in acknowledgement. Soon, a loud roar echoed through the room, catching everybody's attention.

Illfang clenched its jaws together, finally down to its last health bar, with only a fraction of its health remaining, colored a distinct red. With that, the beast threw its arms up, shaking off its weapon and shield.

"Would you look at that! Just like the guidebook said!" Kibaou said.

"Stand aside! I'll end this!" Diabel announced, running to the front of the party and charging up his sword for a final blow.

However, Kirito turned to see Illfang draw its weapon from its back. And much to his horror, Kirito saw something terribly wrong. Instead of the curved, thin blade of a talwar, the weapon was long, broad and hooked, akin to a machete.

"That's a nodachi! That's different from the beta!" Kirito screamed in his mind, pushing a Sentinel off of him.

"Stop! Jump as far back as you can!" Kirito shouted, but it was too late, as Diabel was too far away to hear him. Illfang then jumped upwards, causing Diabel to stop in confusion.

Rebounding at absurd speed off of the pillars, Diabel could barely process what was happening before Illfang pushed off from the ceiling with a powerful downward slash, cutting deep into Diabel's avatar and pushing him back into the corner.

"Diabel!" Kibaou yelled out, before being attacked by Illfang causing the remaining party members to continue fighting.

Meanwhile, Kirito ran to tend to Diabel. Much to his dismay, his health bar was red and dropping rapidly. "Why the hell'd you go alone?!" Kirito asked in his panic, grabbing a healing potion from his inventory.

Just as he was about to hand it to the blue-haired player, his hand stopped him. "H-hey, you were a beta tester, too, am I right?"

Kirito gasped in shock. To think that the man they were following was a beta tester like him. "T-that meant..." He muttered before Diabel smiled and finished for him.

"Yeah... the bonus item for the last hit. You wanted it too, right? Remember... when I wanted to buy your sword?" Diabel asked him weakly as he felt his health bar near its end.

Kirito was at a loss for words. Diabel put on the façade of a strong, considerate leader for all of them, and yet all he wanted was to be the strongest. " _Looks like we're all the same at heart._ " Kirito thought to himself, before Diabel spoke up again.

"Please... I've seen how strong you are... please... defeat the boss... for everyone." Diabel muttered to a stunned Kirito as he felt his life ebbing away, but was shocked when another hand was placed on his.

Looking up, he saw the kneeling form of Josuke over him, grasping his arm in his hand, his eyes overshadowed by his hair.

"No." He said monotonously, almost menacingly.

"Nobody's gonna die today. I won't let them. Not even you." He said in a serious voice, with a hint of cracking in his tone.

Diabel and Kirito looked up at the teen in wonder as Josuke clasped his other hand around Diabel's. "Listen to me. You were exactly what made this possible. You were strong for them, and they're ready to take on the world."

"Despite what you knew, despite what you wanted, you didn't abandon these men. We need more people like you. That's why... I can't let you die today." Josuke said to him, causing Diabel's eyes to widen in awe.

"Kirito... get ready." Josuke said grimly, standing up and walking in a straight line towards Illfang. Diabel suddenly opened his eyes, and much to his shock, his health bar was completely full, and his wound was gone. Getting up, he looked down in surprise, checking himself and looking at his hands in confusion before looking towards Josuke in shock.

"Who is he?" Diabel asked in awe, causing Kirito to smile.

"My friend." He said with pride, watching Josuke walk calmly through the infantry and glaring straight at Illfang without saying a word.

Josuke stopped directly in front of Illfang, causing the mob's eyes to glow red as it glared back at Josuke with bloodthirsty rage. Raising its sword to annihilate him, everybody stared in horror as Josuke simply stood in place, not budging in the slightest.

Piercing screams sounded as Illfang slammed down its blade onto him, but when the dust settled, the only thing everybody felt was pure, unadulterated shock. Illfang held onto its blade, pushing down, but to everybody's surprise, Josuke was still in one piece, the sword suspended inches above his pompadour.

Holding the sword in place were two muscular arms, colored a bubblegum pink and covered by blue-gray armor. The arms were clapped, holding the blade in between, just above Josuke's head. To this, everybody gawked in awe.

"T-the hell?!"

"Where'd those arms come from?!"

"Is that a unique skill?!"

Grinning in victory, Josuke summoned his strength and summoned his Stand to the fullest, causing a full body to emerge from behind Josuke's avatar. The Stand pushed the sword up, knocking Illfang back, and everybody watched dumbfounded as Josuke ran up to the boss and pointed at it with a determined yell.

Almost as if following his command, the armored spirit rushed forward and delivered a series of powerful punches to its bloated gut.

" **DOO~RA! DORARARA!** " With every strike, the Stand unleashed a primal yell, jabbing into its gut multiple times before uppercutting it by its chin, sending Illfang flying upwards.

Jumping high, Josuke stared down at the helpless mob as his deadly glare pierced into the boss's eyes. Whether it could detect it or not, the mob had no idea of the punishment it was about to be at the end of until Josuke proclaimed the two words.

" **CRAZY... DIAMOND!** "

" **DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARAAAA!** "

Everybody could feel the raw power of Crazy Diamond as Illfang was absolutely pummeled by its blindingly fast punches, every brutal strike backed by the Stand's savage cry. With that, Josuke cocked back his fist again along with his Stand, preparing for a final blow.

" **DOOORAAAAA!** "

Illfang was sent flying into the air as Crazy Diamond unleashed a powerful uppercut into its chin. Quickly, Josuke called out to his party. "NOW! FINISH HIM!"

Kirito ran forward in an instant, followed by Asuna. Both players raised their swords, each glowing with light and charging a sword skill.

"Remember! Just like the Sentinels!" Kirito reminded his partner, who nodded in reply as they moved forward to intercept Illfang as it fell to the floor.

Asuna dashed forward with her speed, landing a series of jabs into Illfang's hide. However, the boss's eyes blinked and Illfang began to spin its blade, attempting to hit Asuna, only for her to raise her sword to block the strike.

"Switch!" She yelled out, signaling Kirito to jump in with his own sword.

Landing a clean cut across the boss's belly, Kirito leapt out of the way to dodge a swing from Illfang's blade, and Asuna leapt in to attack.

Suddenly, Illfang's eyes flashed red instantly and the mob moved to attack the girl. "Asuna!" Kirito yelled out in shock.

However, when the blade was swung, Asuna managed to duck, the blade cutting through her cloak, destroying it. Underneath, her true face was revealed. Her hair was long and flowing with a beautiful chestnut orange-brown. Her eyes were a matching hazel and she wore a red vest over a white long-sleeved shirt.

Undettered by the surprise attack, she leapt up and stabbed her blade up the boss's chin, sending it flying upwards.

"Now!" She yelled out, causing Kirito and Josuke to leap in to attack again.

Josuke ran forward, crossing his arms to stop a swing from Illfang, leaving Asuna to leap in, stabbing it in the belly, causing it to roar in agony.

Attempting another swing on the girl, Illfang advanced, but Kirito leapt in, blocking each strike with frustration. Seeing the boss swing downwards on him again, he moved accordingly, but was unprepared for a fake-out.

"S-shit!" He cursed metally, before receiving a slash across his abdomen, knocking him backwards into Asuna.

Looking down at his health bar, he growled in frustration as it depleted to the yellow. Looking above him, he gasped to see the boss swinging its sword down on him and Asuna.

However, Josuke leapt in front of them alongside Agil, who had raised his axe to parry Illfang's strike. With this, Josuke leapt in with another fist rush from Crazy Diamond.

" **DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA! DOOORAAAA!** "

With the boss knocked back, the rest of the party ran forward in an attempt to strike it down. Looking above him, Kirito saw Josuke, who quickly raised him up by the hand, summoning Crazy Diamond. Kirito saw the Stand's hand blending with his friend's and looked in wonder to see his health bar rapidly filling up to the max.

"C'mon! We got a boss to kill!" Josuke urged him on, causing him and Asuna to run forward to join the fray again.

Running towards the battle, the trio could see Illfang had knocked all of the party members back with its sword, before leaping into the air with its blade raised.

Thinking quickly, Kirito ran ahead with his sword out. "Look out!"

Before Illfang could slam its nodachi down on Agil, Kirito leapt up with a flip and dug his blade into its back, stunning it and causing Illfang to crash into the floor.

"One last hit! Make this count, guys!" Kirito yelled out, causing both of his party members to reply in agreement.

The three of them ran towards Illfang with killing intent, their weapons charged and unleashing powerful battle cries. Asuna leapt in first, dodging Illfang's swings and jabbing relentlessly into his side with her rapier.

Josuke then entered, crossing his arms to block the boss's downward slam, summoning Crazy Diamond to pummel it with a flurry of faster-than lightspeed punches, sending it soaring with an uppercut.

Nodding to Kirito, his partner did the same as Josuke stood in position, glaring at the battered boss mob. As Kirito passed Josuke, Josuke extended his arm, leading Kirito to grab it.

Josuke then began to spin his body once, his hand merged with Crazy Diamond's as he then hurled Kirito with incredible speed at Illfang with the strength of his Stand.

" **DOOORAAA!** "

Kirito flew towards Illfang, feeling the wind blow past his face as he curled his sword arm back, charging it with a sword skill as he glared at Illfang with utter hatred and determination.

As soon as he made contact with the mob's body, Kirito stabbed forth his blade, slamming it deep into Illfang's chest, causing it to roar in pain. Seeing the last of its health bar deplete, Kirito finished it off with an upwards swing as he pushed off, cutting up into the neck and head, splitting it in two and feeling his blade slice through its body like butter.

Illfang's health bar then depleted to the absolute zero as he flied through the air in defeat, its body shining with a blinding light, before exploding into a cloud of crystals.

Everybody watched in silence for a moment, nobody saying a word or even moving to break the atmosphere.

"W-we... WE DID IT!" With that, a huge screen popped up above the dungeon, spelling "Congratulations!" In huge letters as the entire raid party exploded into cheers and elatedness, alerts appearing on each player's menus, rewarding them with EXP and Col as the lights began to fade, darkening the dungeon once more.

Kirito and Josuke panted for breath on the floor, exhausted from the intensity of the boss fight. Hearing an alert sound from his menu, Kirito opened it to see his bonus item which he had gained from landing the final hit.

He felt Josuke's hand on his shoulder, grinning happily. "That... was awesome. Nice work, buddy." He said while chuckling happily, causing Kirito to smile as well.

"Hey, good job." He heard Asuna say from behind him, her arms crossed, but her demeanor showed her true mood.

"Those were some remarkable skills you pulled out there. Congratulations, you guys. This victory belongs to you." Agil added, pointing behind him at the crowd applauding the three of them.

Smiling, Kirito stood up and was about to say something, when Kibaou spoke up. "What was that?!"

"Huh?" Josuke asked, walking up to the player with his eyebrow raised.

"That ability... what was it?! We all saw it! How did you heal Diabel? Stop the boss's sword?" Kibaou shouted at him, causing Josuke to flinch. Everybody leaned in closer, clearly interested in Josuke's trump card.

Sighing, Josuke said the truth. "It's... my Stand. Crazy Diamond." He said, summoning it in its full form to emphasize, causing everybody to gasp in shock upon seeing the muscular, armored spirit appear next to him.

"It can attack at extremely fast speeds and has the ability to "fix" anything. Even a human body." He further explained, causing everyone to gasp again.

"T-that can't be a game skill, can it?!" Kibaou asked, a vein growing on his head.

"He's a cheater!" They heard someone in the crowd yell.

"And _you_!" Kibaou yelled out, causing Kirito to turn around as well.

"Me?"

"Yeah! You knew the boss's attacks! You knew but didn't tell us! And look what happened! Some of us died because you wouldn't tell us what you knew!" Kibaou yelled angrily.

"He must've been a beta tester!" They heard another player yell accusingly.

"He had high-level gear and still wanted the loot all to himself!"

"There's more, right?! Admit it, beta testers!"

With this, Kirito could see Diabel in the corner, looking down on his feet as sweat trickled down his forehead. His face was distraught and betrayed, as if hurt by their words. Kirito knew he had to do something and thinking of that something sent a chill up his spine.

Meanwhile, Agil and Asuna had begun defending them from the angry crowd. "Hey, you guys! Calm down a little!" Agil sternly told them, only to be interrupted by a loud cackle.

Kirito's empty laughter echoed through the dungeon, drawing everyone's attention. As soon as all eyes were on him, he smiled wickedly. Josuke looked to his friend and whispered, "What are you doing?!"

"What needs to be done." Kirito replied blankly, getting up and walking toward the crowd.

Laughing even more, he began to rub the other players the wrong way, exactly how he planned it. "Beta tester? Heh. Don't even rope me in with that sad bunch of newbies."

"W-what?" Kibaou growled in anger.

"Most of those idiots don't even know how to level up properly. Hell, if I could get to Level 30 in a week, I don't wanna know why half of them were stuck with their thumbs up their asses at Level 5." He spat apathetically, his eyes shaded by his hair.

"Guys like me, on the other hand, are the kind of guys who can beat 10 floors in the time it takes everyone to find the boss room. In fact, I knew the boss's attack patterns because I beat plenty of katana-wielding mobs on say, the 23rd floor? I dunno, I lost count." Kirito continued to say, much to his friend's confusion.

"Oh yeah, I know way more than even that. More than any info broker in the game!" Kirito declared with a sickly smile, causing everyone to glare at him.

"H-he's a cheater! They're both dirty cheaters!" Kibaou yelled angrily at both him and Josuke.

"He's even worse! He's a beta tester and a cheater! A-a... beater!" One player declared, causing Kirito's ears to perk up.

"Hmm... beater? Like the sound of that. Yeah. I'm a beater." Kirito said, opening his menu to equip his new item, a long, flowing black coat. It was jet black and consisted of a raised collar and extended to his ankles.

Josuke looked on in shock, but reluctantly got up and played along. With this, Kirito spoke up again. "So yeah. From now on, don't think about us as stupid beta testers. Us winners gotta stick together, after all." He said, motioning to Josuke and himself as they both turned to leave.

Both teens walked through the crowd, and up the stairs behind the throne, where another stone door lead to the 2nd floor of Aincrad. But as they walked up the stairs, another voice interrupted.

"Wait."

Both of them turned behind them to see Asuna standing there below them, her eyes glaring at the both of them.

"What do you want?" Kirito asked, almost disinterestedly.

"When we were fighting, you guys said my name, right? How did you know?" She asked them.

Both teens looked at each other after hearing her question, and simply laughed, much to the girl's confusion. "W-why? What's so funny?"

As soon as both of them recovered from their fit, Josuke spoke up. "Okay, you see that health bar of yours? Do you see two more that don't belong to you?"

Raising her eyebrow in confusion, Asuna looked at her menu to see the members of her party. "K-Kirito... JoJo? Are those your names?" She asked the pompadoured teen, to which he replied with a smile and a thumbs-up.

Asuna stared at him for a moment, before smiling and giggling to herself. "Hahahaha! Wow, it was there the whole time?"

With this, Josuke laughed with her, but continued to speak. "Hey, look. You're actually a pretty strong player. If someone trustworthy invites you to their guild, please join them. It'd be a shame for a fighter like you to be by yourself." He said before turning to the door, where his friend stood waiting.

"What about you guys?" Asuna asked them, prompting Kirito to respond by opening his menu and kicking Asuna from their party, before speaking up one last time.

"I guess it'll just be me, myself and my best friend against the world." Kirito said blankly as he opened the door and walked through, ascending to the next level with Josuke walking beside him as the rest of the party only looked on as the door closed behind them.

 _"Beater? Heh. What a stupid name._ " Kirito thought to himself silently.

* * *

 **Stand Showcase:**

 **Lv. ? Stand: Crazy Diamond – The ultimate battle medic, Crazy Diamond attacks with blinding speed and monstrous strength, but its restorative powers make it a key asset in any battlefield.**

 **Special: Ability to heal or restore any object, mob or player without use of items.**

 **Enhancement: N/A**

 **Damage: 500 (S)**

 **Speed: 900 (S)**

 **Durability: 500 (A)**

 **Range: 2m (B)**

 **Precision: 85% (A)**

 **Rank: Unique (S)**

 **Selling Price: N/A**

 **Owner: JoJo**

* * *

 **Next Up: Meet the Moonlit Black Cats!**

 **I... don't have much to say. Thanks for checking out my story, and I really would love to thank those who left reviews or favorited this story! But first, I would like to ask you, would you like me to write real word chapters or should I keep it in the game? As always, leave a review, favorite or follow this story to stay updated, and I will see you all next time!**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **SW11037: Thanks! Yeah, probably.**

 **Guest: Okay, I have an idea for the Kayaba issue, and as for Star Platinum: The World, you're right. So what if I removed Jotaro from the equation? (Either I don't include him or I make it so he never had time stop to begin with.**

 **SIlentXD7: Thanks! Me too!**

 **Guest: Hope I don't disappoint, then.**

 **wildturkeybacon08: Your patience has been rewarded, friend.**

 **Guest: It's not that he has feelings for her, it's just that he doesn't approve of strangers trying to hit on a 13-year old girl who happens to be his best friend's sister. But I dunno. Who would you have as Josuke's love interest?**

 **ARSLOTHES: Next chapter is here.**

 **dantez115: OKAY!**


	3. Swamp Rat

**Yokohoma** **General Hospital "SAO Wing", Tokyo, December 23, 2022**

Several months had passed since the incident, and all of Japan was on edge. Several months had passed since the genius developer and inventor Kayaba Akihiko had trapped 10,000 unwilling players within the digital confines of the NerveGear.

Everybody was in a panic, and following the deaths of countless men and women, action had to be taken eventually. This was where the Speedwagon Foundation stepped in.

Mere weeks following the incident, Joseph Joestar himself had opted to relocate the surviving players out of their homes and into medical facilities where they could be taken care of and kept in check while they worked to escape the game.

Today, the air throughout the hallways was absolutely still, with only the shuffling of footsteps interrupting the noise. Workers and nurses paced to and fro, down and up the hallways, entering and exiting rooms at rapid paces and tending to their patient's needs.

The patients filled the rooms, each silently resting in beds, hooked up to IV tubes, feeding them nutrients as they laid unresponsively. Friends and family members occasionally could be seen next to certain players, weeping over them or leaving flowers at their bedsides. However, in one room, no such thing was done between the two men in the room.

The air-conditioned room was quiet and the air was still, rather odd considering the presence of both men in the room.

One was an old man dressed in a beige trench coat. His figure was rather large, toned, and well-built for a man his age, contrasting his wrinkled face and grayed, spiky hair. One of his hands was concealed by a white glove, locking fingers with his other hand as he stared off onto space disconsolately.

The other laid silently in the bed in front of the old man. His young face was still and his expression neutral. His eyes were closed in a slumber yet sweat rolled down his body as he breathed. Indigo-violet hair peered from under the NerveGear headset that covered his eyes and his muscular body strained with every breath he took.

The elder man continued to watch over his son, his ears ringing with the beeps of the heart monitor when he felt a vibration within his pants pocket. Pulling out his phone, he tapped the screen and held the device against his ear.

"Joseph Joestar here. Who's callin'?" The man gruffly said into the phone, his distress leaking through his voice.

"Yo Gramps, it's Jotaro." Joseph heard the caller reply with a deep, yet slightly tired voice.

Joseph let out a sigh of relief when he heard Jotaro's voice. "Oh, thank God. Any luck?"

Joseph anxiously waited for Jotaro's answer. He had sent him to find any leads on Kayaba Akihiko, the man responsible for this madness, only for months of frivolous searching to bear no results. The man had covered his tracks perfectly, and any traces of information regarding his whereabouts or residences were completely erased.

Using Joseph's Hermit Purple, they had managed to find some leads through witnesses, but even that was not enough. This made Joseph question whether a Stand was at work or not, and if that were the case, then this search would become far more difficult.

"No… Sorry, Gramps. Try using Hermit again. Maybe we'll find something this time." Jotaro replied, much to the frustration of the elderly man.

"Dammit..." Joseph cursed under his breath as he summoned his energy to bring forth his Stand.

Sprouting from the man's hand was a tangle of purple, thorny vines, humming with crackling energy. This was Hermit Purple, Joseph's Stand. Pushing his palm outwards, the vines lashed out into the television monitor in front of Josuke's bed.

Latching onto the screen, the vines began to vibrate with a muted hum, as the television sparked to life, static images filling the screen. Joseph waited in anticipation as his eyes stared intensely at the screen, waiting for a clue.

The static then cleared, revealing nothing but a single image of what appeared to be a small baby. Joseph sighed under his breath. This image was the only thing Hermit would bring up, yet there was nothing Joseph or the Speedwagon Foundation could do to decipher the vague divination.

Joseph groaned as he withdrew Hermit Purple, the vines retreating back into his hand and fading from sight. As he turned to stare at his son's comatose face, Jotaro spoke up again. "Yo, Gramps. How about I come back and use Star Platinum to get Josuke out? It may just work."

Joseph stopped for a minute to ponder his reply, before sighing. "No, Jotaro. Over 8,000 people are trapped in SAO, and I feel that we won't have the time to get them all out. They'll need all the help they need, and I think that Josuke can provide more than enough with his Stand. Looks like he takes after you."

With this, the man on the other side of the phoned faintly snickered for a second, but spoke up again. "Heh. So what're you gonna do, Gramps?"

Joseph paused for a minute, and gave his reply with a serious expression. "I'll do everything I can to keep these people alive and breathing. Keep looking, Jotaro. Kayaba must answer for his actions."

"Good. Then I get to bash his face in with Star Platinum when I find his sorry ass." Jotaro growled over the phone before hanging up, leaving Joseph to think to himself while watching over Josuke again.

* * *

 **Weapon Showcase:**

 **Lv. 10 One-Handed Sword: Anneal Blade – This humble sword has seen many battles and slain many foes, and now it answers to the call of the warrior who takes it up next.**

 **Special: Horizontal Sword Skills deal 30% more damage**

 **Enhancement: +10**

 **Damage: 250 (A)**

 **Speed: 200 (B)**

 **Durability: 275 (B)**

 **Range: 1m (C)**

 **Precision: 85% (A)**

 **Rank: Quest Reward (A)**

 **Selling Price: 8,000 Col**

 **Owner: Kirito**

* * *

 **Aincrad, Sword Art Online (Lv. 6, Amazonia) December 23, 2022**

Level 7 of Aincrad was vastly different from the grassy fields of Level 1, as Josuke thought to himself, treading through the muddy soils of the swamp.

The entire floor was damp and humid, covered entirely by a massive mangrove forest. Wetlands scattered the area as heavy rain continuously poured down from above.

Players all over the floor were either taking shelter from the rain by huddling together in shelters, caves or towns or taking the opportunity to hunt for mobs while the riff-raff were still away.

During rainstorms, slip hazards could be a huge problem when fighting against monsters and animals, not to mention the instability of the muddy terrain of the swamp, threatening to swallow players whole within the waters and leaving them to sink and suffocate or to be handed on a platter to the beasts of the wetlands.

Two players in particular had no issue in the rain, trudging through the marsh in an attempt to find the nearest town. Kirito gripped his sword in hand, hacking away at stray branches, causing them to shatter into crystals the moment they hit the mud.

Josuke on the other hand, trailed behind, raising his hands over his head in a fruitless attempt to shield his hairdo from the monsoon shower. Growling as the cool water peppered down on his head, he waved an arm in front of him to swat away a branch, only for it to snap back into place, hitting the muscular teen in the face.

"Ghh!"

Josuke fell over with his back hitting the mud, causing his black-haired friend to look back and run back towards Josuke to check up on him.

"Hey... you alright?" Kirito asked, noticing the scar on his face, glowing and ripped into his avatar.

"Yeah... nothing I can't handle." Josuke answered, getting up and wiping himself off, smacking away at his coat in an attempt to get the mud off of his clothes.

The pair continued on their way and Kirito turned to face his friend, looking at the scar on his face. "Hey, you gonna heal that up or not?"

Josuke raised an eyebrow before glancing at his health bar, stroking his scar. But then he shook his head and continued walking with his hands in his pockets. "No. Crazy Diamond can't heal my own wounds. Besides, it's only a scratch."

With this, Kirito scoffed and opened the pouch on his belt to pull out a small health potion. "Here, take this. Better to be safe than sorry. Never know when you need it."

Tossing the small vial to Josuke, the taller teen easily caught it and put it in his own pouch for safekeeping, trailing behind as the pair continued to travel through the mangroves.

However, Kirito turned to address his friend, but did not stop walking as he spoke. "Speaking of Crazy Diamond… how'd you know about it?"

Josuke's expression tensed for a moment, but he released a small breath and answered. "I don't remember when exactly I got my Stand, but my dad has one too, and so does my…nephew."

Kirito's eyebrow raised when he heard this. "You have a nephew? At your age?"

Josuke chuckled under his breath upon hearing his friend's reaction, and replied, "My dad had been married for more than 50 years before he met my mom. You can figure out the rest of the story by yourself."

Kirito stared at Josuke for a second, thinking absentmindedly to himself for a minute. "Huh. Must've been rough, man." The black-haired teen replied with a soft smile, sharing his sympathy with his friend.

"It's alright. He still cares, at least. After all, he bothered to get me the NerveGear, didn't he?" Josuke replied with a dry chuckle.

Noticing Josuke's tone, Kirito raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Josuke... did you regret it?" He asked him, only to meet a confused response.

"What?"

"Did you regret it, logging in that day?" Kirito asked him, patiently waiting for his reply.

Josuke paused to come up with his answer, and responded with a smile, "Of course I do, but to be honest... I've been having fun. Hanging out with you, fighting with you. Yeah... it was a lot of fun!"

With this answer, Kirito only gave a grin in return as he remembered the moments the two of them had spent over the course of the months. "Thanks, man. Me too." He said happily, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"So, let's keep going!" Josuke then declared loudly, to which Kirito nodded enthusiastically, and then the two of them continued on their way, treading through the swamps.

After several more hours of walking, the pair entered a moderately-sized village.

The entire settlement was erected on an elevated boardwalk, wooden stilts and logs holding the village above the murky waters. Each door of every house was dimly illuminated by a lantern hanging above each doorway, and NPCs and players alike could be seen congregating in small numbers around the town, going about their business.

Josuke looked around him and he could already sense tension in the air. Many players by this point had already shed their default gear and had begun to flaunt more colors and varieties of items and clothing.

Of course, some took advantage of this and had offered up their items to trade with others. Kirito could already see some players chatting with newbies, Col switching hands left and right. In order to survive in this world, one had to be smart with their money and items.

A man with neither would be as good as dead, and if one had enough money, they could even live luxurious lives away from the battlefield. But Kirito also knew that was also impossible, as the best way to earn money by a long shot was by slaying mobs and completing missions and dungeons.

In this world, life was fighting and both teens loved it.

Walking through the town, they eventually came across a rather large tree jutting out from the boardwalk in a crossroads in the center of the town.

A spiral staircase constructed of wooden planks coiled around the trunk and led up to a spacious treehouse. The room above was built on a wooden boardwalk much like the village below and was sheltered by a collection of wooden boards and leaves, causing the rain to flow off of the roof and down to the swamp below.

Once they reached the top of the staircase, Josuke saw that the treehouse was in fact, a crowded bar and tavern, with NPCs and players alike filling the tables and chatting amongst one another. Most were drinking, some feasted, while others simply oogled the NPC waitress.

In some corners, figures wearing dark hoods stood. Kirito assumed they were quest NPCs, there to activate quests for players.

Sitting down at the bar in the corner, Kirito set a seat aside for his friend, his head resting atop his arms on the table. Josuke sat down in the seat to his right, his head slamming down onto the tabletop with a loud bang.

"Geeeez, that was a long walk!" Josuke drawled tiredly, his fatigue evident in his voice as he slumped the weight of his upper body onto the countertop, causing glasses to shake and fellow patrons to yelp in surprise.

"Don't tell me that tired you out, macho man?" Kirito snarkily asked him, his eyes narrowed with a sly grin as he rested his head on his palm, his elbow against the table and his head turned toward the larger teen.

"Really, now? Don't berate me for being tired, you game-obsessed shut-in!" Josuke shot back with a jabbed finger, causing Kirito to jokingly play along, clenching a fist on his chest and wringing his heart.

"Ghh! The insults! The b-brutal honesty! I-it's too much!" Kirito exclaimed in mock agony, jerking his head backwards for dramatic effect.

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true!" Josuke threw back at the writhing boy, adding a deep and booming voice to add to his cruelty.

"NOOOOOOO!" Kirito yelled out loud, his body crashing to the floor as he arched his back in mock pain.

But just then, both of them stopped once they heard the faint noise of snickering. Looking up, both teens could see every patron looking at them, with looks of confusion, amusement and downright concern mixed in their faces.

When he noticed this, Kirito's face turned red from embarrassment and Josuke did the same, both of them frozen in position, unable to react or move.

"W-what're you all looking at? Take a hike! D-don't you have better things to do?" Josuke embarrassedly, but angrily enough for some patrons to quickly return to their business, pretending they never saw anything.

Getting back up on their seats, the two teens couldn't help but laugh to themselves. It was moments like these that made the harsh reality of their predicament could fade away into the distance as they laughed their problems away.

Josuke was almost out of breath after a minute, but Kirito simply smiled calmly beside his friend, chuckling audibly under his breath as he patted the larger teen on the back softly in an attempt to calm him down.

"C'mon. Let's rest ourselves for now. Remember why we're here." Kirito said to Josuke, leading him to stop laughing, wiping a tear from his eye as his face glowed with a wide grin.

"Right!" Turning to the bartender while waving his hand, Josuke managed to get his attention and placed his order. "Two big ones, please!"

Josuke slammed a small pouch of Col onto the table, which the bartender retrieved before getting to work, brewing up a couple of drinks for the duo.

After a few minutes of waiting, two large mugs filled with foaming beer were set down on the table, causing Josuke and Kirito to grin in anticipation at their drinks.

Both teens grabbed the drinks by the handle, and began to chug the alcohol down, feeling the cool beer gush down their parched throats.

Slamming their half-empty mugs onto the tabletop, the two of them leaned back in their seats, exhaling with ecstasy in their breaths.

"Aaaaaaahhhh... I needed that..." Kirito mumbled with a smile plastered on his relaxed face, with a light blush gracing his cheeks and a drop of drool dripping from the corner of his lips.

"You have noooooo ideaaaa..." Josuke replied, a dumb smile drawn on his rugged features as he relaxed back on his chair, stretching his arms and legs outwards while groaning in pleasure.

"Can we even get drunk here?" Josuke asked his friend, looking toward the ceiling of the tavern blankly.

"Nah, don't think so. What we eat and drink in-game satisfy our hunger and thirst, but don't affect our bodies aside from that." Kirito mumbled between his lips.

"That doesn't mean you should skip out on the chance to get wine, though. You'll never forget that flavor."

Suddenly, the two of them heard a foreign voice enter the conversation. Lazily turning their heads toward the source, their eyes fell upon what seemed to be a teenage girl.

Her hair was a muted blonde, and three purple streaks resembling cat's whiskers were drawn across both of her cheeks. She wore a dark brown cloak with a hood just overshadowing her forehead, leaving her eyes exposed. Underneath, it appeared that she wore the default outfit.

"Hey, boys. Hope I didn't interrupt anything." The girl said to them with a sly grin, with her hand propped against her hip as she leaned to the side.

Recognizing the girl, Kirito got up from his seat and moved to his left, taking the seat beside him and leaving his own seat open for the girl, allowing her to sit down between them and take a sip from Josuke's mug.

"Not at all, actually. How'd you find us, anyway?" Josuke said, also knowing who she was.

"Well, with that hairdo, it'd be hard not to recognize the "Stand User" from the front lines." Argo replied with a mischievous tone, but it quickly faded once she noticed the dark and ominous aura that surrounded Josuke all of a sudden.

" **You'd better watch your mouth around me. Wouldn't want your face broken...** " Josuke darkly whispered to her, just loudly enough to chill the air around him and to cause the girl to shake in her boots slightly in fear.

"H-hey, chill out! I wasn't insulting your hair!" The girl was quick to try to calm him down. After all, if what she heard from the rumors were true, she would _not_ want him angry if she wanted to walk out alive.

"Haaaappy thoughts, JoJo. Haaaaappy thoughts." Kirito frantically tried to calm him down as the larger player breathed heavily, the swordsman whispering words of comfort to him and patting him softly on the back.

"Speaking of which, are we really that popular?" Kirito asked the newcomer, turning his gaze toward her as Josuke began to collect himself.

"Hey, with the show you put on back on Floor 1, word was bound to spread!" The girl said, taking the seat between them and taking a sip from Josuke's mug, recollecting the talk of the town and players speaking of a man using a mysterious unique skill he called a "Stand".

"Wow... didn't think I would get that much attention..." Josuke muttered softly, causing the girl to lean in closer questioningly.

"Hey, rumors can spread, but they die just as quickly. Unlike the "Beater" over here." The girl replied, winking at Kirito with a grin, causing the boy to flinch.

"Still think that was a really stupid name." Kirito grumbled to himself, chugging down another swig of beer from his mug, causing Josuke to snicker.

"Hey, you told them you liked it!" Josuke laughed, patting Kirito on the back and causing him to cough up the alcoholic contents of his cheeks.

"Ngggghhh... Don't remind meee..." Kirito whined, cringing his brain out as he began to slam his head repeatedly down onto the tabletop in his embarrassment, at the mercy of Josuke's grating laughter.

"So... are we doing this or not, boys? I haven't even introduced myself." The third member of the group asked them snarkily, only for Kirito to turn towards her.

"Argo, the "Rat". You're the best info broker in Aincrad and you sell info, quests and items for the right price. At this point, everyone here should know who you are." Kirito said, summarizing most of what he knew about the girl named Argo.

With that, the info broker started to giggle. "Well, well. Didn't know I was getting so popular. Anyways, how about we get right to it?"

Once the chit-chat died down, the three of them got down to business. Reaching into his pocket, Josuke retrieved a small pouch filled with Col, passing it to Argo. "Right. So tell us, any good quests on this floor?"

With that, Kirito replied impatiently, "Location, rewards, objective and difficulty. Make it quick."

Pausing for a minute, the trio sat in silence, but Argo eventually broke the mood as she smiled and gave her answer.

* * *

 **Outfit Showcase:**

 **Lv. 15 Coat: Cloak of Midnight – The Cloak of Midnight is said to allow its wearer to be one with the night and strike silently like a phantom from the shadows.**

 **Special: All EXP gained between 6:00pm and 6:00am (Japan Standard Time) is increased by 30%.**

 **Enhancement: +3**

 **Damage: 250 (A)**

 **Speed: 225 (B)**

 **Durability: 300 (B)**

 **Rank: Boss Drop (S)**

 **Selling Price: 20,000 Col**

 **Owner: Kirito**

* * *

 **Aincrad, Sword Art Online (Lv. 6, Tavern, Caiman Village) December 23, 2022**

"A... hunting mission?" Kirito asked with a deadpan face, clearly unimpressed.

"Yep. The terrain in this floor is more dangerous than the others below. The swamps hide all kinds of high-level monsters, so much that nobody would survive a dip. The small fry are fast, but valuable for food and crafting parts. If you can handle both, you're sitting on a goldmine here. Besides, the quest rewards you with an XP booster that allows your XP earned to double for a whole week." Argo chirped, slurping another sip from her mug of beer.

"I dunno..." Kirito muttered anxiously. Sure, he and Josuke were more skilled than the average front-liner by a small margin, but this was a bit of a stretch. Fighting in a swamp posed significant dangers, considering you had no idea was waiting under the murky water to chew you up and end your pathetic life in an instant.

Normally, players would not be bothered with this risk, but the whole "die in the game and die in real life" shtick was a serious problem. In addition, Sword Art Online was firmly a melee-only game, with only throwing picks available for long-range and even then, those could only tickle high-level mobs at best.

"Hmm? Come on! I think it's worth a try! Whatcha think?" Josuke spurred on, pumping his fist in determination.

"It's risky... but an XP booster would be too good to pass up." Kirito muttered, contemplating the offer while pressing his fingers against his chin.

"We'll take it. Where should the NPC be?" Kirito asked Argo, who smiled.

"Look for an NPC dressed in tribal clothes in the village ruins. Watch out for crocodiles." Argo replied, her hand resting against the side of her head as she leaned back in her seat.

"Hey, if you know so much, why not take the quest?" Josuke asked her, to which Argo turned towards him abruptly.

"Look, big boy. Just because I know this much doesn't mean I'd rather be out there risking my hide like you are. I have a business to run. A business that's safe and profitable, no less. No thanks, but I'm happy where I am. Besides, if what they say is true, then you shouldn't have a problem clearing this thing." Argo answered Josuke with a smile on her face, leading him to wear a grin of his own.

"That's right! Nobody can beat the JoJo-Kirito combo! We're unstoppable!" Josuke proclaimed proudly, hooking in his friend with his arm and pulling him close, crushing him under his muscular grip.

"Ghhh...l-lungs...need...a-airrr..." Kirito croaked under Josuke's grip, choking as the large teen's arm hooked around his neck to pull him in.

"Heh. Anyways, one last thing you should know. Keep an eye out for other people on the same quest. You never know." Argo told them, prompting both teens to nod in reply before rising from their seats.

"Right! Thanks for the tip." Josuke said, setting down his empty mug.

"By the way, why aren't you in any guilds yet?" Argo piped up with a final question, grabbing Kirito's attention.

Kirito's face turned red and was about to awkwardly stammer out a reply when Josuke pushed him aside, closing his mouth with his hand. "We have our reasons. Besides, we have each other!" He happily replied, walking out the door and dragging Kirito behind him by the collar.

Once outside, Josuke turned to his black-clad friend. "Okay! So what's the plan?"

Pressing his fingers against his chin, Kirito began to think. "Right... if I remember, the ruins should be half-sunken in the flooded forest to the south of the village, and it'd probably take at least an hour at best to walk there."

"This should at least take half a day to complete, and it's getting pretty late. There's no telling what could come at us at night, so I say we take tonight to get our gear polished and get some rest."

"Sounds good. Speaking of which..." Josuke replied, catching Kirito's attention.

"Hmm?"

"She did have a point back there. Why don't we get to know some people? Join a guild?" Josuke asked, only to be met with a drawn sigh from his friend.

"We've been over this, Josuke. Being a solo player has benefits." Kirito said.

"And being a team player doesn't? Think of what we could do with a guild of our own! We could get a house, go on raids with them, party all night, it could be fun!" Josuke listed off, his smile growing with his imagination.

KIrito paused as he listened to his friend, thinking of the possibilities, but he quickly shrugged these thoughts off. "Remember what I told you? Getting the last hit on every mob I come across is really important. If I can keep that going, we won't even need a guild at this point!"

Josuke paused for a minute, before pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighed with the shake of his head. "Alright then… fine." He reluctantly agreed with Kirito, but spoke up again.

"But hey, if anyone asks, what'll you say?" Josuke asked him, causing the black-clad swordsman to turn to him.

Kirito stopped himself to collect himself and find an answer, and gave his reply. "F-fine. I'll consider it." He said softly in defeat.

With this, Josuke beamed a smile at his friend as he patted him on the back. "That's a good boy! Now c'mon, we've got a long day ahead of us!"

Kirito watched as his friend strutted off to the inns near the edge of the town and smiled as he ran to catch up with him.

* * *

 **Up next: Meet the New Squad**

 **Okay, let me run down what Crazy Diamond can actually do in-game.**

 **First of all, like any other stand, Crazy Diamond's ability translates directly into the game, and adapts to work with the game's systems and rules. This means that Crazy Diamond is capable of healing people and fixing things just like in real life, but the system treats this phenomenon as a game mechanic. While he can copy the restoration ability on items like armor and weapons, he is unable to do the same with any item in his own inventory, as it is technically a part of** **Josuke** **himself, much like how he is unable to repair his own clothing. He is also unable to relieve poisoning and paralysis effects, because Crazy Diamond explicitly** _ **fixes**_ **things, not exactly heals them. Finally, if someone or something were to be destroyed, as in explode into a bunch of crystals, Crazy Diamond would be unable to revive them, as the game already classifies them as "dead".**

 **Crazy Diamond, much like other stands affect the body in the real world, because if a wound is inflicted on the stand in-game, the body of the user in real life suffers from an identical wound. The same can also be said for if the stand were to attack a person in-game. If a stand wounds someone in-game, then the damage would translate to their real body, and they would still feel pain in spite of suppression systems. Players are able to see stands in-game and can freely attack them, meaning summoning a stand in-game is risky to the user.**

 **I know that** **kinda** **steps boundaries and into** **hax** **territory, but come on. This is JoJo we're talking about.**

 **Okay, the quest chapter is next, so stay tuned for more. Sorry for not making this longer, but I felt like I needed to get this out of the way and receive your feedback before moving on. Tell me how you'd envision the next chapter and it'll be a great help!**

* * *

 **ARSLOTHES: Yuna sounds interesting to explore, and I haven't played the games yet, so I don't know about Lux or Strea.**

 **DiRunner: Liz? Maybe.**

 **dantez115: Hmm… tbh I'd rather not go the harem route and stick with one girl.**

 **Tehjsan95: Haha XD Thanks for the support!**

 **guest: Yeah, I guess. Well, we're over that hurdle but no promises with ENEMY STAAANDSSS**

 **CurdonTheBastard: This is essentially SAO canon with JoJo characters, and yes that does make me an unoriginal little twat.**

 **flo463: A little to early to dabble into that territory, but I'll think about it. Sounds interesting.**

 **Neo-Devil: Yeah… I guess… Maybe I'll cross that bridge in time.**

 **DejDem: Yes I am and I acknowledge that the story would not be worth viewing if everything was the same. This is why changes WILL be implemented. I'll probably write certain side characters differently or change the endgame of an arc, but other than that, I will be basing my story off of the main plot.**

 **Guest: Well I came up with my possibly right answer, but to elaborate, Suguha is actually 15 by the Fairy Dance arc, making her just a year behind Kirito and 13 by the start of the series.**

 **Guest: I'll cross that line once I get to that point in the story, but I'll think about it.**

 **guest: Personally, I'd like to deviate from a harem route, mostly because I find it more satisfying for him to stick with one girl and build off from there, either that or I'd hold off on pairing. A problem I had with SAO was how plenty of characters' personalities and quirks revolve around Kirito in particular. I want to fix that, either that or I'll fail miserably.**


End file.
